Axel Davis: Don't worry, Naruto won't be getting any swords :P He may be smarter but he's still a fists-a-blazing kind of guy. Until he gets his other techniques, that is. Thanks for your review!
NinjaGOAT: Sorry, I don't think I'll be doing Sasuke x Samui. I don't really like to focus solely on pairings anyways, but any fic needs it's fair share of it. Not sure how I'll handle Sasuke with a pairing anyways. I'm open to suggestions :P
Chapter Seven: Yakomi Town
Team Seven neared Yakomi town, and Kuma grew more and more excited every step she took. Each one was a step closer to seeing her friends and family again. They were approaching a clearing in which would supply an overview of her beloved town.
As they exited the woods, they were greeted only with the sight of barren, ghostly ruins. Ash sleeping peacefully over the crumbled buildings. It was painfully evident the town had been gone for a while now, at least a few months. The ninja paused in their tracks. Sakura put a hand to the mouth, Kakashi and Sasuke looked mournful but professional, and Naruto put his hand on the now wide-eyed Kuma's upper back.
In some ways, the sight was eerily beautiful, particles of soot dancing about the air and the bitter smell of death saturating the area. Kuma's eyes were welling up with light tears. "My friends… family… mom, dad… I'm so sorry…" She wouldn't break down… no. She would find what happened to her people and make those responsible pay. But who would target such a small town? There was nothing there desirable to any missing ninja, unless…
"So… they want me that b-bad then… huh…" She couldn't help the sobbing, but still made an effort to speak in between pants. Naruto snapped his head up and Kakashi overheard.
"Who? Do you know who did this, Kuma?" Naruto ushered. He couldn't stand sights like this and hated ones who would commit an atrocious act such as this. Families, children, killed, but for what?
"I… no, Naruto. But I-I know why." She was still staring solemnly toward her home.
Kakashi finally ordered the team to retreat back to the camp they set up. He could tell Naruto wanted to further help this girl, but she didn't pay for this mission. She had only paid for a C-Rank escort. He told Kuma to wait by the fire while he and his team discuss the further actions of Team Seven. They were now out of earshot of the girl so Kakashi began.
"Naruto, I know what you're thinking but we can't just help every person who needs it. I'm sorry but she only paid for an escort back to her town-" He was cut off.
"Her town that doesn't exist anymore" Naruto said louder than he had hoped.
"While that is true, Naruto, she still technically made it back. I want to help her as much as you do, Naruto-kun, but we're ninja, not heroes." Sakura sadly put in. This was her first time really witnessing the horrors of the corrupted world they live in.
"Why not both?" Sasuke surprisingly added in. "Ninja are nothing if not loyal to something."
"And by doing out missions, we are loyal to the village" Sakura reluctantly argues against Sasuke. She didn't want to get into battle thinking she wasn't yet strong enough. She would no doubt be nothing but a burden to her team.
"By helping this girl we will be loyal to the village and to our hearts!" Naruto had a fierce look in his eyes that left little room to argue.
"If we can come to a team consensus, we will proceed accordingly." Kakashi honestly didn't care what happened, seeing as if they got into battle, he was confident in his ability to handle all but the strongest of ninja.
"Sakura… please. She's lost and without family or friends right now. She feels like she… has no place in the world… like she's been abandoned and she's alone…" The more Naruto spoke the more he realized he was speaking from experience. Everyone else picked up on it too, and Sasuke just nodded in agreement with his blonde friend.
After a moment of thought, Sakura finally gave in. "Fine… we will help that damned girl." She growled. While she was still a little sore from the lack of sleep due to answering so many questions about Naruto, she felt sympathy for the girl. After all, she had just lost her entire life in one moment.
Team Seven went back to the camp and told Kuma about their decision. At first she didn't accept saying how it was her duty and she could handle it, but Kakashi explained the possible situation and how his team didn't want her to be in danger, so she finally conceded and allowed them to help. Of course she was silently grateful that she had the backing of actual ninja at her side. Quite remarkable ones, she thought. She was also not too upset that she would be able to spend some more time learning about the other Uzumaki.
Neji couldn't stand Hinata's growth in strength. He had always seen her as a weak, spineless main branch member. That would never change, for fate had decreed her to forever be a coward and to fall at his hands. Of course, he had to vow his life to protect her, he anticipated the upcoming Chuunin exams, and his chance to prove that the branch family could be just as, if not more powerful than the main branch. He yearned for the day he would face her in battle, against all her supporters, even that Uzumaki kid. He would humiliate her just like the weakling she was.
These thoughts arose when Hiashi actually stopped their sparring to train his daughter, the one he normally never spared a second glance. Did he think she was better than him? Impossible, fate had promised him to be superior. That would never change. He went off and trained on his own after that, still bitter from the actions of his uncle, the one who he thought ordered his father's death. Neji never thought about even the slightest possibility that his father willingly sacrificed himself to keep his beloved brother alive. No, he was hell-bent on proving the main branch a bunch of cowards.
He has recently been working on a technique that would do just that. It was a technique normally only learned by main branch members, but one he actually taught himself. He was a genius, after all.
The group was split into teams: Naruto and Sasuke, and Sakura, Kuma, and Kakashi. They upturned rubble and searched for any sign at all that could lead them to the culprits. A town doesn't just get reduced to rubble for nothing, after all. The smell of ash and rot were stronger than ever and it was obvious that there were people in the rubble. Deceased people, but still people. After almost two hours of searching, all they found were strange markings painted on various walls still barely standing and eerie silence. Kakashi was about to call the search to an end for the day when…
"Kyaah!" Yelped Sakura. Sasuke and Naruto quickly rushed to her location to see what the fuss was about when the horrible smell of melted and rotting flesh forced itself in their noses. They were greeted by the awful sight of a burnt-black human body almost melted to the rubble. Sakura and Kuma looked on in shock as Naruto covered the eyes of the latter. She didn't need to see this. No one did.
'No mere civilian could do this, let alone any fire jutsu I've ever seen… Just who attacked this town?' This had Kakashi perplexed. A fire jutsu would burn the body to ashes, not melt it to the ground. He turned to Kuma, "Time to start talking." He called out to her as she was finding comfort in Naruto's embrace. He would wait until she was in a more stable state. She was currently crying into Naruto's shoulder and shaking, making her foot tap the ground repeatedly in a rhythm as Sasuke gave the blonde odd looks. Why him? Why would she choose him to cling to? Did he have something he himself doesn't? Why do I care? That last question was probably the hardest to answer for the Uchiha. He had never cared before, so why now? There's something strange about this girl…
About five miles south of Yakomi town, a group of three ninja sat in a triangle on three different logs lying on their side. They were surrounding a campfire eating some fish the man furthest to the left caught. They had chosen to eat now since the signal was received telling them the Jinchūriki and the girl had entered the town. They had been waiting for at least a couple of months now so it was about damn time they got some action. They would set out after finishing up their nice meal. Never want to kill on an empty stomach, right?
Once Kuma had calmed herself down enough to speak clearly, Kakashi and Team 7 rested about a mile outside of the ghost town to converse just what's going on.
"You mentioned earlier that you knew why someone would attack your town, or you, rather. Why?" Kakashi spoke calmly but forcefully. There was little to no room for playing around the subject. He needed answers and he was going to get them.
Kuma almost immediately sported a look akin to remembering something you wish you hadn't. "Ever… since I was born, I had a… gift, so to speak." She took on a new interest of her feet or the ground, it was hard to tell.
"What kind of gift?" Sasuke questioned this time. Was there a kekkei genkai the Uzumaki had? Maybe Naruto had it too.
"I can feel things. Chakra, more specifically. I can see it coming off of all of you and I can feel it from far away too. It tells me things…"
"Like what?" It was Sakura's turn to ask. Who knew chakra could tell you things?
"Feelings, pulse, thoughts… that sort of thing. I've learned how to sort of control it so I don't have headaches as much as I used to, but it still ha-" She couldn't finish her sentence before dropping like a sack of rocks. Naruto rushed up and caught her gracefully but noticed a ridiculously small senbon in her neck. They all immediately sunk into their own respective fighting stances. 'Where did that come from?' Kakashi looked around rapidly before his head snapped towards Sakura's feet as a hand came up through the ground and grabbed her. She was immediately pulled in before Kakashi could save and before she could make as much as a yelp.
"Sakura!" Naruto yelled out before his body instinctually moved to deflect the kunai speeding towards his head. Kakashi saw where that came from and threw his own kunai at a blinding speed towards the spot his enemy was. Suddenly a young boy with light purple hair appeared in front of Sasuke and swung a foot towards the boy. Sasuke dropped down and with an impressive speed for a Genin, formed hand seals and shot a small katon jutsu towards his opponent's gut. The man disappeared before appearing about ten feet away behind the three team seven members and Kuma. He was now accompanied by two other men, one of which was holding Sakura by the hair with a kunai to her neck. The long, pink hair she was so fond of.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi watched the men as the one in the middle was bound to speak sooner or later. They wanted to make an introduction. Kuma was still fast asleep on the pile of leaves Naruto gently placed her on.
"Hello. I am terribly sorry we had to meet under these circumstances, but I needed that red headed girl over there to keep her mouth shut, and this girl with us? Think of her as leverage. You see, we need something from you. Er… someone actually. We have this girl right here…" he pointed his kunai towards Sakura "… to make this easier on all of us. I don't expect too much from this, but I'm always one to be fair. I want to offer you all a chance to live, you see…" The man speaking was fairly tall, had jet black flat hair, bored eyes, and a dark blue flak jacket on over a gray long sleeved shirt and gray cargo pants. To his left was the purple haired boy, wearing similar to what Sasuke wore but all a dark brown. To the man's right was the one who took Sakura. He was a brown haired, stout man with orange hair and an Iwa uniform. It was obvious they were missing nin at the level of Chuunin or above, but what did they want? The most likely choice was Kuma, but could they also want Naruto or Sasuke? Kakashi probably had the most dangerous team. The Nine-Tails container and the last Uchiha… damn.
"Who are you and what are you after?" The Hatake adopted a commanding, authoritative tone. You almost had to listen to him.
"Well now, calm down. My name is Takeda, and I just want a simple trade. The boy to my left is Yusho, and to my right is a rather strong man called Hotaru. Now for my proposal, it's quite simple, this girl for one of yours. Simple, see?." It seemed as if the one in the middle was the leader. The other two remained silent.
"I assume you want Kuma, right? I'm sorry, but we can't hand her to you. My team and I have promised her our protection." Kakashi was now more ready than ever for a battle.
"Oh, it's quite alright. I can compromise. I will spare this girl if you hand over any of those kids you have with you, actually." Takeda didn't know the team would also have the Uchiha orphan with the, It's a jackpot, really. He only wanted the Nine-Tails technically but if things went south, which he expected them to, he could just kill the sensei and the girl and take both of the kids. Kuma would come willingly, of course. Kuma! That's right, it's about time for her to wake up, isn't it?
His thoughts were confirmed when the red headed girl rushed up to Naruto.
She took a moment to assess the situation before speaking with anger evident in her voice. "What did you do to my people?! We had an agreement, Takeda! You said you wouldn't hurt them!"
Team Sevens' heads all snapped to Kuma. Naruto was the one who spoke, however. "Kuma, what do you mean? What agreement?"
The girl suddenly adopted an empty and guilt-ridden look. "I'm… so sorry, Naruto… I didn't know you would be so kind… I'm sorry."
Naruto looked at the girl in a slow realization. They didn't want Kuma… they wanted him. Or what was inside of him, rather. He thought the girl was genuinely interested in him and stuck to him because she liked him… She was just trying to get close to him so he would trust her… She betrayed them, all of them; she was a trait-"A sword pierced the guilty and now surprised looking Uzumaki girl in the blink of an eye. It was almost as if it were in slow motion. Everyone watched as she fell into Naruto's arms slowly. He felt her lungs pump at an ever slowing rate and her pulse beat weakly, until, like a candle going extinct, it died. It flickered away… the girl he had gotten used to for the past few days, she was a lie, and now she was gone. Her last words were 'I'm sorry' and they were to him. Her town… her family… and now her life… this man took all that away from her, and she was only a little older than Naruto himself.
The blonde stood there, staring at the cold body in his arms in disbelief. His eyes wide and slowly forming slits instead of circles. Red gushed out from him at an ungodly rate as the ground caved in around him when he pounced at Takeda.
"Naruto wait!" Kakashi's yell was in vein… This was bad; the Kyuubi was showing its power. It seems directed, however, so he wouldn't focus on it. He instead aimed towards saving Sakura. Lifting up his headband, he vanished and appeared behind Hotaru, slightly above him. He kicked the man's head, throwing him a good twenty feet to the right. Almost the instant before the kick came, Sakura was sick of being a burden. She had been quiet for the length of the conversation, contemplating what to do and when to do it. She didn't want to rely on her team to save her; she would not be like that. Right as her sensei disappeared; she knew it was her chance. She quickly reached a kunai up to her hair that the man was gripping, and she cut it off. She released herself from her long locks she had grown so proud of the past year or so, and released herself from her own childish mindset. The cherry blossom has finally bloomed.
Hotaru flew to the right as Sakura and Kakashi charged the man, looking to end him before he could fight back. As they neared him, he sprung up, then back down into the ground without any hand seals. Kakashi's Sharingan flicked around rapidly, locating the man. Was he trying to escape? Kakashi slammed his foot on the ground, launching Hotaru up forcefully. He did a singly flip and landed right in front of the two.
"Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan. I hope you didn't think I didn't know who you were. Any ninja would be hard-pressed not to." The orange haired man finally spoke. His voice was light, but deep. There was no malice in his voice, no anger, and no ill will. It almost seemed as if he didn't even want to fight. Nevertheless, he was the enemy. He had to either retreat or die, and Kakashi doubted he would retreat.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not in much mood to talk. You threatened my student, so you've threatened me." Kakashi said as he rushed forward and performed began rapidly forming hand signs, faster than the eye could see. "Katon: Endan!" Kakashi yelled as bullets of fire shot towards Hotaru. He jumped and dodged out of the way of all but one. A flame scorched his left shoulder as it skimmed him. He returned the attack by launching a pillar of rock towards Kakashi's gut. The copy ninja performed a substitution with a kunai he threw to get out of the way before throwing another towards Hotaru. The missing ninja easily batted it away with his own as surprisingly, Sakura appeared where the discarded kunai was falling, grabbed it, and launched it straight into the side of Hotaru. He quickly retaliated. "Doton! Doryosu!" He yelled as a two stone spears launched from the ground into Sakura's leg and shoulder. 'Now that she's out of the way, I can focus on Kakas-' He felt a sharp hand pass right through his heart. The sound of chirping radiated the air and his sight was plagued by a deathly blue light from behind.
"Chidori" Kakashi said quietly from behind Hotaru. When he was sure his opponent was dead, he freed Sakura from her predicament. She would be ultimately fine, but she was smooth out from the pain. He wrapped up her bandages and laid her on the ground.
Sasuke watched Naruto slam the man into the nearest tree and his sensei go for the Iwa missing nin, so that left…
Yusho threw a pair of senbon at Sasuke who dove out of the way and leaped towards the boy only to be knocked aside by a forceful stream of water. The Uchiha got up shakily and threw two shuriken towards Yusho, each one going on either side of him.
He looked a little perplexed but stayed silent as he stood still. Sasuke smirked in triumph as the shuriken suddenly jerked back and wrapped the ninja wire connected to them around the purple-haired boy. He didn't seem affected by it, however. Sasuke paid no mind to his calmness as he went to launch a kick towards the boy's left temple. Water suddenly rushed out where the boy had previously been only moments ago and threw Sasuke back, also breaking the wire. Yusho appeared right behind Sasuke as he was flying through the air, and delivered a crushing kick to his spine. Sasuke flew the other direction and before landing harshly, pivoted on his palm, recovering somewhat, and sent three kunai in Yusho's path. One kunai stuck to the boy's chest whereas the other was sent hurling back to Sasuke, who caught it with his thigh.
The water using boy immediately appeared in front of Sasuke, rushing to send him to the ground with a fist, when all of a sudden the Uchiha caught the hand mid-swing. The boy took over a shocked look as he gazed into the crimson eyes of the Sharingan. Sasuke connected a punch to Yusho's head before the boy simply turned into a puddle. That technique was getting annoying way too fast.
Sasuke soon found himself dodging tendrils of water as they whipped and cracked anywhere he would stand. Yusho was nowhere to be seen and was instead replaced with these seemingly self-aware tentacles of murderous water. After dodging the eighth or ninth one, he wasn't keeping track, they all diverged in on him and encased him in a sphere of water. He was stuck, drowning in this boy's jutsu. After about a minute with no site of Yusho, Sasuke really thought he was going to die. That was until Kakashi appeared in front of the sphere and rested his hands upon it. Sasuke felt a wave across his body then the water dispersed. 'He used chakra! Why didn't I think of that…' Sasuke thought in shame before Yusho appeared roughly ten feet away from the two and sent a blast towards them. Sasuke was about to counter it with a katon jutsu when Kakashi simple sent a charge of electricity down the stream before getting out the way. The energy traveled down the beam of water and roughly 50 thousand volts traveled throughout Yusho's body in an instant. He stood still for about three seconds then dropped; his body blackened and skin crumbling off. He was burned badly and would be dead within the next thirty seconds.
Sasuke looked at Kakashi with a newfound respect. The man wasn't a Jounin by chance after all. Maybe this team would be beneficial for the time being. The requirements for getting the power he needed to kill his brother still terrified him more than anything, though. He was starting to seriously doubt if he could carry through that task, even if it meant getting the same eyes as that man…
Thinking straight was the last thing the blonde could be credited for at the time. He slammed his body into Takeda's and began rapidly pounding the man's gut with his Kyuubi-enraged fists. Takeda was taken way off guard at the sudden mood and power change the boy undertook. His travel through the air and the punishment to his stomach finally came to an end when the pain instead moved to his back, slamming against a tree violently. Naruto eased off of him for a moment, which was all he needed to defend himself. He began blocking any strike Naruto would throw but never got a chance to strike the boy. After a while of playing defense, he chose to fight back by releasing radiation-induced heat all from his body. Naruto's skin started to bubble as he was relentlessly attacking. Ignoring the agonizing pain he felt as his skin flared and peeled off, he delivered one speedy but heavy punch to Takeda's chin before backing off.
"How did you like that, boy? See, I'm fairly unique. I have what is known as a kekkei genkai. A nature release only I can use. I like to call it Hōshasen Release. I can manipulate my chakra into mimicking radiation and all its effects. You like?" The proud man's words fell on deaf ears as Naruto's skin was now perfectly healed. Once it was, he charged Takeda again. This time, the man didn't let Naruto get close as he shot a beam of blinding yellow light in the blonde's direction. Before it reached him, however, a second tail sprouted and Naruto vanished.
Appearing behind Takeda, he crashed his fist into the man's head, making a sickening crunch as he hit the ground. Naruto wasted no time in jumping on top of the man and brutally pounding his back until he was sure the man would never walk again. How could you when your spine was reduced to a powder?
Once Takeda stopped moving, Naruto stood up and stared down at him, calming down, and relinquishing the red cloak and two tails. He didn't feel much exhaustion, which he contributed to the Kyuubi's healing factor and his intense training with Hinata. It was only a few moments before Sasuke and Kakashi appeared near him, the latter of which was holding an unconscious Sakura.
"Will she be alright?" Naruto asked without turning to see the three behind him. He could feel their presence.
"Yes. She has some injuries, but nothing too severe. Naruto… did you do this?" Kakashi looked to the crushed and mutilated man lying face-down on the ground. His answer came from the silence Naruto gave. Sasuke looked on in worry; he had never thought Naruto to be capable of something like that. It looked like a beast got a hold of the man.
Kakashi nodded, "We should be going. Seeing as the girl made it back to her town before she passed, this mission was a success…" Naruto and Sasuke nodded solemnly. While they weren't happy about what happened here, they did technically get Kuma to her town. Naruto was probably the most shaken of all of them, however. He felt so angry at her for betraying them… for betraying him… but he now realizes just what position she was in. She just wanted to protect her family, her friends, and her home… He wasn't sure he wouldn't do the same as her in that situation. In the end, she was just yet another victim of greed. Forced to do things she wouldn't otherwise even consider, only to save her home… Naruto swore to never let anything like that happen ever again, to anyone. That was his goal. That was his dream.
"N… no… I-I won't l-let you l-leave…" They heard Takeda's voice whimper from behind them. He was weak. Deathly so. How he could speak let alone do anything to stop them was a mystery.
That mystery was solved as soon as the three felt an enormous power begin welling up in Takeda.
"Naruto, Sasuke, we need to get out of here!" Kakashi instantly knew what the man was going to do, and with that kind of power, it would probably be effective. Naruto grabbed Sasuke and Shunshin'd away repeatedly until he was at least two miles away, and at a blinding speed too. Sasuke was thoroughly impressed at Naruto's sheer speed with the technique. Kakashi wasn't far behind, and he too was impressed that Naruto could not only keep up, but he could move faster than him, an Elite Jounin. Just what else was that boy hiding? He had never shown this speed before. How skilled was he?
Kakashi's thoughts were soon cut off by the blinding orange light of the spherical explosion. The sound came shortly after as a deafening boom, followed by a shockwave that succeeded in knocking multiple trees over and almost sent them soaring through the air. The energy that man built up was nothing short of incredible. They all stood in awe of the eruption that could probably be felt, seen, and heard from Konoha. Poor village probably thinks they're being attacked.
Team seven made their way back to the village in mostly silence. No one was in the mood to talk so Kakashi would wait until later to ask Naruto about his abilities and his fight. The Kyuubi's chakra leaking out was not something that could be ignored. While Kakashi was walking, he was writing a detailed report on the events of their mission, which would stay a C-Rank considering the mission they accepted had already been completed once they accepted the new, unofficial one, which they had regrettably failed. Once he was finished with his report, he summoned one of his ninken to travel ahead of them, bringing the report in so they could go and rest as soon as they returned home. They all had a long day, after all. Sakura would be out of commission for a while, so it would just be him, Naruto, and Sasuke performing missions. Maybe that will give the girl enough time to overcome her obsession with the boy. She did begin that journey when she cut her hair to escape Hotaru's hold. She also showed bravery by assisting him in his fight. He could finally see the hint of potential he had been waiting for in the girl. Sasuke also showed impressive battle skills. He managed to injure his opponent who was probably low Jounin level, and he showed a high proficiency in ninjutsu. Naruto, however… Naruto took down a man of Jounin strength at least, alone, and with little to no injury to himself. That was definitely included in the report and would be looked into thoroughly. He also showed a speed that was damn near close to Shunshin no Shisui. Although that may have been the adrenaline pumping through his veins, seeing as he just got out of a dangerous fight and wanted to save Sasuke's life…
The team entered the village and almost immediately Naruto branched off to his apartment. Sasuke looked at his rival's back for a moment in confusion but shrugged it off and went to his own home. Kakashi, however, wasn't so lucky. He had to first lug Sakura to the hospital so she could get proper care, then he had to follow up on his report to the Hokage. He had realized after sending his ninken off that he had forgotten some details in his report, but he also wanted to take the chance to ask Hiruzen about Naruto's scores in the academy. The boy had to have performed rather well if he was at that level, so why had he never heard of his excellence? He could understand the speed somewhat, considering he was Minato's son, but what of the strength and chakra control over the vast amount he has? He had to have received extra help from someone…
Knock, knock…
Knock, knock, knock…
KNOCK, KNOCK! Naruto swung his door open angrily, ready to yell at whoever was bothering waking him up at… 4:32 p.m... Oh…
The door opened only to reveal an upset and worried Hinata. He looked back at her with surprise plastered all across his face. Why was she here? Oh… Wait… Shi-
"You've missed all our training sessions for the past week, Naruto-kun… Are you alright?" Hinata said with force and care at the same time if possible. She was really getting better at that whole stuttering thing.
"Ah… um, sorry, Hinata. I've just been busy-" Naruto's sad excuse was cut off quickly.
"Busy sleeping and eating ramen?" That voice was a lot more playful but still oh so very soft and nimble. When Hinata saw the empty look in his eyes, she immediately switched to care mode. "Naruto-kun… what's wrong? And don't lie, I can tell"
"How..? Uh… It's not a big deal." Naruto curiously said quietly.
"Naruto…" Hinata was now in the apartment, focused solely on making the blonde feel better, or at least tell her what was wrong.
"Look, Hinata, there was this girl on one of my missions. She was an Uzumaki like me, and her village was destroyed by a group of assholes. They had her bring me to them, and when they were done with her, they killed her… I was unable to save her life, and because of me, her home and family was destroyed." Naruto said with fierceness in his eyes as he stared Hinata down.
"Naruto… It's not your fault. Kakashi-sensei couldn't even save her, so how could you? You also c-can't help it if they w-wanted y-you…" Her stutter returned as the blonde stared into her eyes. He had never noticed how pretty they were before… He was broken out of that thought when Hinata caught on to something.
"Naruto-kun? Why did they want you?" she questioned.
Oh… damn… he forgot she didn't know about the Kyuubi. Could he even tell her? What would she think of him..? That wasn't something he wanted to find out quite yet… He rushed her out the door in avoidance of the subject.
"Thanks for the help, Hinata-chan! I feel a lot better! Bye!" Naruto honestly did feel a little better. She had that effect on him. But that wasn't why he was pushing her out the door. He had the biggest smile he could muster as he postponed telling her about his tenant. He had to make her feel at ease, after all.
The new generation of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio attacked Asuma as they prepared for the incoming Chuunin exams. When they ceased training, the three relaxed, laying themselves down in the soft grass. Their sensei left to check out Team Eight's training. That's what he said, at least. They all knew he only was interested in seeing one person of the bunch. He had been seeing Kurenai quite often as of late, and it was only a matter of time before they got together.
"So do you think the other teams will make it to the Chuunin exams?" Choji asked while stuffing his face with his latest back of chips.
"Well of course, I mean, Sasuke is on it. How could they not?" Ino felt the need to vocalize her obsession.
"I think Naruto will really carry his team through any test they have." Shikamaru saw Naruto train with Hinata a couple of times and it was honestly quite amazing how he moved with an almost unparalleled grace. He was in another league from his Team Ten.
"Are you crazy? You can't be saying he's better than Sasuke. He made the lowest scores of anybody in our graduating class." Ino defended her love.
"And what about the years before that? I seem to remember him being the top. I also remember him never losing a sparring match, but maybe that's just all in my head." Shikamaru said with a lazy smile on his mug.
"I agree with Shikamaru. He's super smart, after all!" Choji and the lazy genius were best friends and had been for a while now. They defended each other whenever they could because it was what friends would do. Ino, admitting defeat, just sighed and closed her eyes, lulling into sleep under the bright warm sun.
Over the course of a few weeks, all three Genin teams trained hard for the exams and put everything they had into bettering themselves in between missions. Hinata along with Naruto had to balance their training between their team, each other, and for Naruto, with Bear. As the exams neared closer and closer, the three teams were given a break from any missions so that they could train. Naruto continued to visit Kurama and to train his own Chakra along with mixing the two. It was hard at first, even damn near impossible, but over time the fox became willing to cooperate. Naruto had a way with large beasts of destruction and death. Or so it seemed. He could now employ the one tailed cloak without losing control, but the second would almost always end in Yamato squeezing the life out of his wrist in order to suppress the beast. Naruto also learned how to use chakra itself as a weapon as opposed to simply using jutsu. Hinata could be credited for that, since he derived his knowledge from her gentle fist technique. He could now use short range blasts with his chakra to stun or even attack his opponent. He really did want to learn his chakra nature, however, and start learning some actual jutsu aside from his rarely-used Shadow Clone jutsu. Come to think of it, why doesn't he use that more aside from just training? It could be really helpful sometimes…
Whew, 6k words :) I'm not sure about this chapter, but I hope I did it justice. Thanks for reading, and please review! It helps to know what you guys think and it really inspires me to write more.
Until next time!
Next Chapter: Chuunin exams! :D