Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto….
Chapter 6 – The invasion begins…
Naruto woke up early and changed into his regular jumpsuit and created a clone. He then changed into a black outfit and sent the clone outside in the direction of the training grounds. Naruto grabbed some toast with jam and then followed the clone to find a familiar person following his clone. He created another clone to keep watch on the stalker and then headed to the Hyuuga compound.
He arrived quickly enough and was let in with little fanfare. He greeted Hiashi and Hanabi, while he waited for Hinata. Hanabi raised an eyebrow to the blonde and asked, "Why did you get rid of that atrocious orange jumpsuit?"
Naruto just shrugged and said, "I have to change things up, especially if I don't want to be noticed."
Hanabi's face lit up like she had just figured out the meaning to the universe. She mouthed the word 'oh', as she put her hands to her cheeks.
A voice interrupted the teasing. "Naruto-kun, please don't tease my sister. She might get the idea that you might like her and develop a crush on you," Hinata said, only to have Hanabi blush profusely at this comment. Hinata noticed this and said in an exasperated tone, "Hanabi! He's my boyfriend and you can't have him."
Naruto turned bright red, as he noticed Hiashi raise an eyebrow and appeared to be chuckling lightly. Naruto shook his head and grabbed Hinata's hand. "Bye Hanabi-imouto, Hiashi-sama. We'll more than likely, be back later this evening. I know that Ero-sennin will work us to the bone," he explained, as they headed away from the compound.
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Several days later, Naruto and Hinata sat in meditative poses while they appeared to be fighting the urge to hit a certain pervert who was giggling like a maniac. "Ero-sennin… instead of making all that noise, you could just write your ideas down and laugh about them later," Naruto said in a very angry tone.
"Shut-up brat, you have no idea what a genius I am," Jiraiya replied in a sarcastic tone, until he felt the Kyuubi's chakra welling up from within Naruto.
Hinata's eyes opened and she looked at Naruto. What she saw surprised her. His features were more pronounced, his hair was wilder, his finger nails had become claws, his whisker marks were both larger and darker, and she noticed his canine teeth elongating to the point that they were visible, since they poked out between his lips. "Are you alright Naruto-kun?" she asked in a worried tone.
Naruto didn't open his eyes, but nodded. "I'm fine, Hinata-chan. The pervert is just getting me a little angry. The fox isn't quite awake yet, but I'm able to get some of its chakra to use right now. I figure that if I can keep up the use of this chakra I can help my system become more accustom to it. At this level there aren't any ill side effects. I figure I'm at about a quarter tail worth of chakra and should be fully enveloped in the red Kyuubi chakra," he explained.
Hinata nodded, but she then gasped when he opened his eyes. Gone were the loving blue eyes, they were replaced by red irises with slit-like pupils. Naruto grinned and this intensified the feral look with his elongated canines. "So do you like it?" Naruto asked.
Hinata shook her head and then nodded. Naruto chuckled at her confusion. Naruto pricked his thumb and did several hand seals and said, "Summoning jutsu!"
A large cloud of smoke appeared and as the smoke slowly dissipated it revealed a large toad, about the size of a small hill. Naruto eyed the toad and shook his head. It was light and dark green and had two swords on his back. Jiraiya turned and whistled at the huge toad. "Nice to see you Gamahiro," he said happily.
"Did this child summon me?" Gamahiro asked.
Naruto nodded and replied wearily, "Yes I did, but I was hoping to summon Boss-toad."
"You're nearly there kid. You just need more chakra, and possibly some more control," Jiraiya explained.
"If there is nothing than you need of me, than I shall return," Gamahiro said, before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Naruto slumped over and sighed. Hinata was at his side. "Naruto-kun," she asked in a worried tone.
Naruto chuckled. "I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all," he said in his defense.
"The Kyuubi chakra is intense and malevolent," Hinata explained.
"What would you expect from the strongest of the nine animal spirits?" Jiraiya asked.
"It's not that. It's just using that chakra is tiring and I feel a little drained afterwards. I know from the vision that this is normal, but I figured I had gathered enough chakra to do it. I know later on I can gather Natural chakra, but I don't want to gamble and become a statue, because I don't have the control to use it," Naruto explained.
"You would have to use either Ma or Pa to do that," Jiraiya said in a surprised tone.
"Nope, won't work. Kyuubi won't allow for it, for some odd reason. Guess that is one of the pitfalls of being a jinchuuriki," Naruto said in a too happy of a tone to be anything other than him being sarcastic.
"So have you talked to Kyuubi?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto shook his head and said, "No, not yet. I keep visiting the cage and the furball is still asleep. I'm hoping today it might wake up. Heck there's no telling whether it is a boy or a girl."
Jiraiya chuckled and said, "It's a manifestation of chakra, a creature unlike any other. My guess is that it doesn't have a sex per se, or it might even be a hermaphrodite."
Naruto returned to his meditative pose and entered his mindscape.
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He traveled the familiar corridors and entered the chamber with the seal. He heard a low chuckle and grinned. "So you're finally awake you damn fox!" he yelled at the cage.
A set of red glowing eyes appeared and then a large set of teeth appeared. The fox chuckled lowly and then squinted its eyes. "So my container has finally chosen to visit me," the fox said in a booming voice.
Naruto shook his head and replied, "Nope I've been visiting you off and on for several months. You were either asleep or in pain. I hope you appreciate me getting that seal removed that was hurting you."
"I can never be hurt!" the fox said arrogantly.
"Keep your pride, I need to know a few things and want more access to your chakra. Consider it rent for living in my body," Naruto explained.
The fox lowered its head and growled at Naruto, but not in an apparent malicious way. "I'm impressed that you don't cower before me. I shall give you the power you seek and allow you to ask your questions," the fox said, almost laughing.
Naruto smiled. "Thanks, furball. So what do you know about Madara Uchiha?" he asked.
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The area around Naruto began to swirl with both power and wind. Both Jiraiya and Hinata had to shield themselves from the wind blowing small twigs and other debris at them. Naruto opened his eyes, bit his thumb and proceeded to do several hand seals, while he exclaimed, "Summoning Jutsu!"
A cloud engulfed the area and a shadow blocked out the sun.
'Did he actually do it?' Jiraiya asked himself, as he tried to determine what had actually been summoned.
"Jiraiya! Why have you summoned me you lecherous old coot!" Gamabunta yelled.
"Hey bossman!" Naruto yelled.
"Eh? Who are you and why are you on top of me?" Bunta asked.
Naruto chuckled and replied happily, "I summoned you, so that I could become your subordinate. I'm sure your son and the others told you about this."
"Yes, they did mention that someone would summon me soon. So you're the brat," Gamabunta said in a derogatory tone.
Naruto chuckled and said, "We can drink over it in a few years. Heck if you want me to ride on your head for the day, I could do that too."
Gamabunta smiled and lowered himself closer to the ground.
Jiraiya grabbed Hinata and ran through the bushes towards the waterfall. "Everyone, clear the area!" he yelled, as the frightened women near the waterfall began to ran away from the huge toad.
"So you think you can hold on to me?" Gamabunta asked, as he jumped up into the air.
Naruto had somewhat prepared for this to happen, so he lay down on Gamabunta's nose and attached himself with chakra. 'This is going to be a wild ride for sure,' he thought to himself. Eight hours later Naruto was barely conscious, but still hanging onto Gamabunta. "So you give up?" Naruto asked with a slur in his speech.
"No, but you've proved your point Uzumaki Naruto. I will allow you to be my subordinate," Bunta admitted.
Naruto jumped off of Gamabunta's nose, but collapsed in a heap when he landed.
"You should be more careful, kid. Since I have taken you in, you may now summon us any time you need our assistance," Gamabunta said happily and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Well, while you were off gallivanting with Bunta, I've taught Hinata here, how to access her water affinity, since you two chased off all the pretty girls," Jiraiya said in a whiny tone, until he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked down to see an angry Hinata.
"So you think that I'm not pretty?" she asked angrily.
Jiraiya put up his other hand in a submissive gesture and said, "No, it's just that you're too young for me and Naruto forbid me to look at you in that way."
Hinata glared at the Sannin, but moved to help Naruto recover after using so much chakra and also so much of the Kyuubi's chakra.
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It took a week for Naruto begin to work with his Earth affinity, and then another week to actually get a single jutsu to work. Hinata in the meanwhile was able to master two water based jutsu. Naruto was also given a temporary room in the Hyuuga compound to help speed up Hinata and his meetings before training. The elders got wind of this, but since they were being trained by a Sannin they kept their mouths shut about it.
The last week Naruto and Hinata began to work on seals with Jiraiya. Naruto had hoped that he would get a chance to work with Water jutsu, but also determined that it would take too much work to master a third element in such a short amount of time. While toad taijutsu suited Naruto it didn't go over well with Hinata and her Juuken training. Naruto and Jiraiya worked with her on her Guardian Eight Trigrams, Sixty-four Palms jutsu. Naruto's clones could attest to how powerful this jutsu actually was.
Sarutobi informed Naruto that Hayate had 'died' a day before the beginning of the third portion of the exams. Jiraiya told Sarutobi how the training had gone, but also kept some of it for a surprise. Naruto also played along and sought out Gaara. He told him to keep himself under control. Gaara ignored Naruto until he mentioned that they were alike and had monsters in them. Shikamaru was present at the time, but appeared more worried about Gaara then what Naruto was talking about. Gai finally broke up the gathering and sent Gaara back to his hotel.
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Naruto took Hinata to the training grounds for nostalgic kiss before his match. He told her again how they had met in this very same spot and what they discussed.
He wrapped her in a hug and kissed her gently again. He then said, "I want you to be careful and keep Kiba close. Now before you say that I'm insulting your skills, I'm not. You're a strong kunoichi and the woman that I love. I just want you safe and there is going to be so much going on that I'm worried you might get hurt or even die. In my vision you were at the hospital at the time of the attack. So if you feel a genjutsu, play along like you're falling under it, but don't allow yourself to actually be captured by it. I'm sure that we can help out with the others. I'm just worried about Gaara and if I will be able to stop him in time."
"I wonder if Sasuke-teme will be late again, like in your vision," Hinata said in a mildly derogatory tone.
Naruto chuckled and released Hinata. "More than likely with that sensei of mine," he said in with quite a bit of mirth. "Kiba is almost here. Keep an eye on him. He's our friend and we need to keep our friends safe."
Hinata nodded, as Kiba and Akamaru entered the training grounds. "Hey Naruto, Hinata. You guys ready to go to the stadium?"
Both of the other teens nodded, as the four headed towards the stadium. They met up with Konohamaru. Naruto then told him to go to school and that he would fill him in about the tournament later. Konohamaru agreed readily and went off to school.
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Naruto left Kiba and Hinata, so that they could find their seats, while he entered the main arena. Naruto noticed the smirk on Neji's face and walked up beside him. "So you want to take our time and show off some of our hard work or do you want to make it quick?" Naruto whispered to Neji.
Neji's smirk threatened to become an actual smile. "I think we should draw it out, seeing as how that Uchiha punk isn't here right now," Neji replied quietly.
Naruto smiled widely and winked at Neji. He then looked at Genma and saw him nod to him before he said, "So we made it to the big time, right?"
Genma nodded and said, "Look up and see that everyone here is here to see you."
All the genin looked up into the crowd and the audience began to cheer. Naruto watched the Hokage box carefully and then noticed the glare that Gaara was giving the Kazekage.
The Hokage stood up and said loudly, "Thank you all for coming to the Hidden Leaf's chuunin exams. We will start the main tournament matches between the eight participants who made it through the preliminaries. Please watch and enjoy it until the end." He then sat down and appeared to have a discussion with the Kazekage.
Genma then said, "There is something I'd like to tell you before the matches begin. Please look at this." He held up a new sheet that had Dosu's name removed, but still had all the other participants' names in their former order. "There have been some minor changes to the tournament, so check again to see who you're fighting."
Naruto raised his arm and asked, "Sasuke isn't here yet, what are you going to do?"
Genma looked at Naruto with an annoyed look on his face and said, "If he doesn't appear by the time of his match, he will forfeit."
Naruto growled and said under his breath, "No way they'll let that happen. He'll just be late like Kakashi sensei. I swear he'd be late to his own funeral."
Genma smirked at the jab at Kakashi, but then proceeded to explain the rules, "Alright guys, this is your final test. The arena is different, but the rules are the same as in the prelims, there are none. You fight until one of you dies, or acknowledges defeat, but if I determine that the fight is over. I'll step in and stop it. You got that?"
Everyone nodded, as Genma said, "I need Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto to remain. All the others please proceed to the observation platform above the arena floor."
The others filed out of the arena and up the stairs to the platform to observe the coming battle.
Genma turned to Naruto and Neji. He smiled and said, "I want a good fight between the two of you." He watched them both nod and take their respective taijutsu positions. Genma lowered his hand, jumped back and said, "Begin!"
Naruto face turned from just grinning to a maniacal grin. He then charged Neji. Neji activated his Byakugan and prepared for the attack. To his surprise Naruto's speed was increasing as he covered the twenty yards between them. He began to establish the timing of his first strike and waited the few seconds left before he could strike.
Naruto saw Neji preparing for his charge and at the last minute twisted to the right slightly, just being missed by Neji's strike with his right arm. Naruto pulled his arm up and attempted to hit Neji in the face only to find his hand both blocked and hurting, thanks to Neji's left hand. Naruto jumped back to avoid a swinging strike by Neji.
Shaking the numbness out of his right hand, he shook his head and said, "Nice block Neji. As usual your speed is amazing." Naruto's face turned serious and he continued, "But that won't help as much as you would like."
"We shall see Uzumaki, we shall see," Neji said, while motioning for Naruto to attack again. His expression turned from confidence to surprise when he saw a strand of red chakra traveling from Naruto's core to the injured hand. 'What is going on? The hand for all intents and purposes is no longer useable, but that red chakra is opening the chakra point at his wrist,' he thought to himself, as he watched Naruto shake his hand again, able to now flex his hand normally. "I see you have some tricks in you yet. We shall put them to the test Uzumaki," he said boastfully.
"You know that, that hurts?" Naruto asked. He then crossed his fingers and created more than a dozen Shadow clones. "Hey Neji, let's play a game. Find the real Naruto."
Neji noticed one slowing sliding into the ground and charged that one. He struck it in the upper chest. "Trying to hide yourself it is an admirable tactic, but it won't work," he exclaimed.
Naruto began to cough up some blood, but then smiled and said, "You guessed wrong…" With that Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a hole in the ground. "You want another turn?" Another Naruto asked.
"Indeed," Neji said with a smirk. He slowly walked around to the individual Narutos. He noted the placement of each and kept his guard up the whole time. "This is very unusual. All of your clones are solid and have chakra coils. If I had the time to analyze them more I would be able to discern which would be the real you, but I cannot at this moment tell which of them is the real you. So I'm left to just guess. What about you two," he exclaimed, as he struck out and hit two of the Narutos. Both disappeared in clouds of smoke.
"Guess you guessed wrong. My turn," one of the Narutos exclaimed. Three charged Neji and found that two hit him while the other two were taken out by chakra strikes to the chest.
"Got you!" Neji exclaimed. He ran through the group of clones to one who appeared to be cowering. "I knew you wouldn't attack yourself," Neji explained, as he slammed a palm into Naruto's right chest.
Naruto slid back and stood up and began to cough up blood, but also smirked at Neji. 'That can't be him' Neji thought, but then jumped back, as a Naruto came out of the ground and nearly was able to grab onto his ankles.
Naruto fully emerged from the ground and looked very disappointed. "Dang it! I almost had you there. Guess we have to go on," Naruto exclaimed, as the clone coughing up blood disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Neji skidded to a halt and then said, "So you know some Earth style jutsu. That will not help you Uzumaki."
He then noticed Naruto taking a deep breath and going through several hand seals. "Wind style: Drilling pressure bullet!" Naruto exclaimed, as he breathed out a condensed bullet of air at Neji.
Neji looked at this wide eyed. He could see the bullet better than most because of his Byakugan, but was only able to dodge it by the barest of margins. His left arm was grazed and it tore his shirt sleeve from his shirt. He winced from the pain of the glancing blow. "Very good Uzumaki, I bet you can't do that again," Neji said boastfully. To his surprise and that of the crowd Naruto had just finished the hand seals and sent a second bullet at Neji. Neji in his arrogance didn't think that Naruto would continue the attack on him, but he did. Neji released a burst of chakra and began to spin and exclaimed, "Rotation!" A semicircle of chakra covered the spinning genin. The jutsu attack slammed into the chakra shield and exploded.
Neji found himself landing on his feet, but was shaken. He pulled out a kunai and threw it at the closest cluster of Naruto clones and watched it explode taking about six of them with it.
"Ah, no fair. You cheated," Naruto exclaimed in a sarcastic manner.
"All's fair in war," Neji exclaimed.
"Nu, uh," Naruto replied in a childish tone. He then continued, "It's said that: 'All's fair in love and war,' so nah." Naruto stuck his tongue out at Neji. "And this isn't love… thank Kami," Naruto exclaimed, while both Neji and Genma nodded agreement. Naruto rushed through several hand seal and moved his hand from his side in an upwards motion, while he yelled, "Wind style: Great breakthrough!"
Neji went wide eyed and again waited for the attack to come and then used another 'Rotation' to protect himself from the attack. When he stopped spinning he looked at Naruto and opened his mouth to speak, but was dragged down into the ground, so that only his head was above ground.
"Earth style: Inner decapitation," Naruto said in a calm voice. He then bent down and looked Neji in the eyes and said, "Sorry, did I interrupt you wanting to say something?"
Neji frowned and nodded. "I was going to concede the battle to you. If you can use that jutsu then there would be no way for me to defeat you. Using is as a distraction is even more of a surprise," Neji explained. He then turned his head to the proctor, "I give up! I was about too, but didn't have a chance, so I concede to Uzumaki Naruto."
Genma nodded and then said, "Winner Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto sighed relief and pulled Neji from the ground. Neji noticed that Naruto was sweating and breathing heavily, but was trying to hide the fact. You would have to be a Hyuuga or close to Naruto to have noticed this. He smirked at Naruto waving to the applause from the crowd. He also noticed the gleam in Naruto's eyes when they came upon his cousin. 'Thanks to the two of you my eyes have been opened. Thank you Hinata-sama and Naruto-san,' he thought to himself.
Naruto watched in annoyance as Sasuke's match was postponed. He then chuckled and laughed at Kankuro when he forfeited. Kankuro growled at the blonde, but said nothing. Naruto played with Shikamaru and knocked him into the arena, much to his annoyance. Naruto then walked over to Shino and said quietly, "Put a female bug on doll boy and keep an eye on him and his sister, I'll watch the walking sandbag."
Shino pushed his glasses up on his face and asked, without turning to Naruto, "Why should I do that?"
Naruto continued to look down at the arena. Shikamaru appeared to be losing, but Naruto was sure he would win and then forfeit. "I have a feeling that all hell's going to break lose during teme's match and I think that the Sand guys are going to be trouble," he replied quietly.
"What makes you think that?" Shino asked pointedly.
"That Kankuro guy, he seemed to give up too easily. I'm sure he's trying to keep the armament of his puppets hidden, and that would mean that he is going to fight against us instead of you," Naruto said in a worried tone.
"So you think our allies from Sand are going to attack?" Shino asked.
"Come on Shika! You can beat her!" Naruto yelled down into the arena, but then quietly said to Shino, "That would be my impression. See how tightly wound the ANBU are around the arena? And that's nothing compared to the old man.
Shino looked up at the Hokage and noticed that he had fake smile on his face, along with two jounin guards. 'That is odd that the Hokage would have two guards at an event like this. My insects also tell me that there are three more in the area of the Hokage's box. He must not trust the Kazekage,' he thought to himself. "Very well Naruto-san, I will do as you ask."
Naruto looked down and adjusted the zipper on his jacket. He saw a small beetle moving quickly across the floor towards Kankuro. He smiled inwardly. "Also be careful with that one. He uses poisons and I'm not sure if you and your friends can handle poison gases yet," Naruto said again in a worried tone.
"Thank you for your concern for me and my allies, Naruto-san. You have become a most intriguing ally. I must ask you about something if I may," Shino asked with an implied desire for an answer.
"Sure go ahead and ask. I'm not sure that you'll like the answer, but go ahead. Hey Shikamaru! Come on! Can't you get out there and fight her!" Naruto yelled down into the arena, but then chuckled at how he knew Shikamaru was going to be angry with him.
"You are a dichotomy, Uzumaki Naruto," Shino said in a monotone voice.
Naruto smiled and said proudly, "I know. Isn't it great?" Naruto then put his hand on Shino's sleeve and said happily, "I bet he gets her here."
"There is no way he'll beat my sister, since she's gotten his range figured out," Kankuro proudly boasted.
"I'll bet being the other's slave for a day that he will get her, but then forfeit," Naruto said, as he turned to the puppet user.
'Easy, bet and I won't have to worry since you're going to be dead after today,' Kankuro thought to himself. He then said, "Sure you're on."
Kankuro and Shino, along with the crowd watch in amazement as Shikamaru captured Temari in his 'Shadow possession' jutsu. They were even more surprised when Shikamaru promptly forfeited to Temari complaining of lack of chakra to continue. Shino shook his head in amazement, while Kankuro just stood there gaping at how he had lost a bet to a blonde shrimp.
Naruto jumped down to the arena floor and put a hand on Shikamaru's should. "I knew you were going to do that. Heck, I bet Choji even knew it too."
"So, you ready for the next fight?" Shikamaru asked with a smirk.
"Sure, but I bet that teme will make it here in about fifteen minutes, and even then he will make it just in time. I really hate that my sensei likes to be late and even worse, he's turning teme into someone like him, Kami help us all," Naruto said in a teasing tone. Shikamaru and Genma both chuckled at the blonde's joke.
After Genma announced that they would wait another ten minutes for Sasuke to show up before he was disqualified. Naruto threw a glance at Gaara who seemed to be accepting the situation without much of a problem. He also noticed Shino nod to him telling him that he had also planted a bug on Temari. Naruto began to tap his foot and said, "You know he's going to get here and make it showy. Bet he leaves about five to ten seconds to spare."
Genma looked at the blonde like he was crazy, but Shikamaru just laughed at the outburst.
Genma looked at his watch and right with seven seconds to spare he felt a burst of chakra hitting the area, along with a swirl of leaves. He and Naruto both smirked while nodding to each other. Shikamaru and the crowd looked on in awe. "Guess you were right…" he turned to his new arrivals and watched as the leaves settled to the ground.
Kakashi spoke up and said, "Sorry we're late…"
Genma smiled at the pair and asked, "Your name?"
Sasuke put on a 'super' scowl and replied, "Uchiha Sasuke…"
"And you call me an attention hound! You're getting as bad as sensei. Next you'll tell us that 'a black cat crossed your path and you had to go the long way'," Naruto said as a jibe at Kakashi.
"You're an idiot," Sasuke replied happily. He then asked, "So did you win your fight?"
Naruto smiled wide and replied, "You know it, no thanks to our lazy sensei." Naruto then scowled at Kakashi.
Kakashi put up a hand to defend himself and said, "Hey, you said that you were fine with me working with Sasuke." He then turned to Genma, scratched the back of his neck and asked nervously, "Well… we did show up all flashy and the like, but… was Sasuke… disqualified?"
Genma sighed and said, "Geez, your tardiness must be contagious."
Kakashi sighed and said, "See, Sasuke, you're late… So, what is the verdict?"
Genma chuckled and replied, "Don't worry… his match was pushed till the end, and so he wasn't disqualified."
"And the luck of the Uchiha stands… kiss their ass and they get what they want," Naruto said in a derogatory tone.
Sasuke growled, but turned to glare at Gaara up in the observation platform. Naruto then said, "Don't let him get a hold of your balls or two things will happen."
Sasuke looked quizzically at Naruto and then asked, "What are those?"
Naruto put up on finger and said, "First you couldn't rebuild your clan and second… you'd lose all your fan girls. Okay the second may not be so bad for you, but you'd also be useless in a fight after that."
Sasuke actually smirked at Naruto's joke. The crowd began to cheer for Sasuke. Naruto put a hand on Shikamaru and began to walk towards the stairs to the observation platform. 'Got to keep my cool or Shikamaru will die at the hands of Gaara,' Naruto thought to himself, as they came to the top of the stairs and saw a shinobi from the Hidden Grass village being swallowed up by sand.
Gaara walked past the broken bodies of the dead shinobi. He looked at Naruto with no emotion on his face. Naruto splashed a little Kyuubi chakra through his system just enough to let Gaara know that he was also a jinchuuriki. Gaara's eyes showed surprise at Naruto's eyes. He continued on past the two Konoha shinobi.
Shikamaru collapsed on the stairs in a sitting position. Naruto sat down next to Shikamaru and began to speak in a haunting tone, "Don't take this the wrong way Shika, but if he had not been interrupted by those guys we would have had a real problem."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto like he was crazy and said, "Yeah, we would be dead."
Naruto sighed and said, "This doesn't go beyond this hallway." Naruto waited for Shikamaru to nod and then he continued, "Gaara is the jinchuuriki of Shukaku the Ichibi. I would of course be injured in a fight against him, but he would be hard pressed to kill me… because I'm the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto and then a light went off in his head. "So that's it. Well that does explain why most everyone doesn't like you, but it would be too troublesome for me to begin hating you for something that you had no control over."
Naruto smiled warmly at his friend, and replied, "Thanks, Shikamaru. Other than one other, it feels good to know that some people don't judge me on what is sealed in me."
Shikamaru chuckled at Naruto's admission and said, "So how is it going with Hinata?"
Naruto slapped his fist in his hand and exclaimed, "Damn, how did you know?"
"I didn't until now, but I had a feeling that it was the case," Shikamaru admitted.
"Guess you are the smartest one of our generation," Naruto said jokingly. He then continued, "I think we should warn my tardy sensei about Gaara and what Sasuke is up against. Also be on your guard, something doesn't seem right."
"You mean like that puppet guy giving up before the fight? Yeah that bothered me too. What are you thinking, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, as the pair headed to the stands to find Kakashi.
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Everyone was focused on the match between Gaara and Sasuke that they didn't notice Naruto and Shikamaru enter the stands behind Kakashi. "So he went ultimate defense? You know Sasuke-chan using Bushy brow's taijutsu isn't enough to beat Gaara," Naruto said to anyone who would listen.
"Naruto…" Sakura said angrily.
"Chill out Sakura-chan. He stole Bushy brow's taijutsu, but I'll bet that Kakashi-teme-sensei gave him more than just taijutsu to work with, even if he lacks the stamina to use the taijutsu effectively," Naruto said, while cupping his chin in his hand.
"Naruto-kun…" Lee said sadly, but with a smile on his face.
"You know from his fight with Bushy brow, that he can use that sand like another limb. There is a chance that Gaara will kill teme. I know you spent the whole month with teme, and taught him your special jutsu, but it won't be enough to do more than injure him," Naruto explained.
Suddenly there was a screeching sound like a flock of birds. "You'd be surprised what he can do with a little encouragement," Kakashi said under his breath.
Gai turned to Kakashi and asked angrily, "No way, is that?"
Kakashi looked down at the arena and said, "The reason I trained Sasuke is… because he's the same type as me."
"So that is the reason, you trained him in taijutsu, so you could also work on increasing his speed," Guy explained.
"Yup," Kakashi happily replied.
"And you taught him Chidori, an assassination jutsu… on the Kazekage's son no less. That will make for great international relations," Naruto said in a sarcastic tone.
"How do you know about the 'Chidori', Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"You're the most well known shinobi in the Leaf and my supposed sensei. Why would you not think that I would do some investigating of you?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi shrugged and said, "I guess that explains your knowledge to some extent."
"This technique is based on a simple stab, but there is more to it. It is Kakashi's sole original technique. It's a technique specifically made for assassinations. The speed of the stab and the enormous amount of chakra that used, also because the chakra is concentrated in the hand along with the speed of the user, all you hear is the chirp, chirp it produces, like the sound of a thousand birds running towards you. And that is the reason it is called the Chidori," Gai explained.
Naruto nodded, but then shook his head, as he looked on to see Sasuke's left arm penetrate the sphere of sand protecting Gaara. 'Oh well, at least he might get away. Poor Gaara is going to feel that in the morning,' Naruto thought to himself.
"Chidori… also known as 'Lightning edge' or Raikiri, a technique name give when Kakashi cut a lightning bolt with said technique," Gai explained. He sighed and then continued, "Its true name is Chidori. It is known for its stabbing speed that pushes the limits of the human body… and the huge amount of chakra that is focused in that single arm becomes the blade of a sword that can cut through anything. But… what a truly ridiculous technique it is."
"Like you should talk… right Lee-kun?' Kakashi asked playfully.
Sakura began to gleefully say, "Well it's beyond my level…"
"Yes we both know how many jutsu that Kakashi has taught us…" Naruto said in a derogatory tone. "The only reason he can use that technique without getting himself killed, is because of his Sharingan. Wait for it…"
"What?!" Gaara yelled in a blood curdling scream. "Blood? My blood!!"
"And now teme will have to try to get back his arm before it is turned into pulp," Naruto said, as if he were narrating the scene down on the arena floor. Naruto chuckled and continued, "Now for the weird sand arm being birthed. I'm sure he and Gaara will be happy parents."
Shikamaru began to laugh at Naruto's playing around and calling the fight perfectly.
"And the siblings are actually worried for their younger brother, for the first time in a long time," Naruto said, while Kakashi and Gai showed surprise on their faces. With that key Naruto sent off several clones that weren't really noticed because of what was happening down in the arena. "And there was scream from the arena and Gaara again showed his face, after of course scaring most of the people in the stadium," Naruto continued his commentary.
An inhuman scream came from the arena floor and the sand sphere around Gaara fell.
"And the Uchiha has achieved what was thought impossible, he actually hurt Gaara and made him bleed," Naruto said sadly. Naruto moved his hands to the ram seal and said, "Time for bed… pretty feathers…" he then whispered, "Release…"
Naruto and Shikamaru fell to the ground in a heap.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Signing off for this week and should have an update sometime next year for this story.
RaiderXV…