Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and only use it for entertainment purposes.

It was only a couple of days since Naruto was told the truth of the Seal on his stomach. The news was a mixed blessing, Naruto always wondered why people looked at his like they did and now he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. They looked at him with hate because he was a constant reminder of family and friends lost during the fight with the Kyuubi. Now that he knew the reason Naruto could scrutinize the looks better. What he found in the glares actually surprised him. With Naruto being raised by the Hyuuga and being constantly around those that are the best at it, Naruto was able to understand a person's emotions quite well at just a glance of their posture. That was how he was able to divide the glares into three categories; those that looked him in the eye with hate, those that looked towards his abdomen with hate, and finally those that would look at his with a mix of anger and a trace of sadness.

The first category of people saw Naruto as the Kyuubi, like the fox had take a human form when Yondaime sealed it. The next group seemed to understand that Naruto was not the Kyuubi but could not let go of their hate knowing that it was still alive. The last group did not seem to hate Naruto, but were still angry at the demon; they also seemed a bit sad that Naruto had to bare the burden alone.

This made Naruto actually feel somewhat better. He now knew that there were at least some people out side the Hyuuga Clan that did not out right hate him. So after a day of observing the villagers and sleeping on his analysis Naruto was back to his usual self.

Which brought up another topic that presented itself the same day. The Chunin Exam was coming up and if Naruto's hunch was accurate then Kurenai and Gai were going to nominate their teams. Naruto figured after the way Kiba, Noa and Hinata handled themselves during their C-Rank mission Kurenai felt they had progressed enough to take it. From the missions that Naruto accompanied with Neji, Lee and Tenten Naruto knew that Gai felt they were ready as well.

On the subject of the elder Hyuuga child's team, Naruto had too admit when he first met Rock Lee a year ago, when Neji was first put on his Gennin team, he did not think to much of him. He could now freely admit that he was wrong. Rock Lee went from not even being able to do a single jutsu, making him one of the worst students at the Academy to the second strongest Gennin in Konoha. That just attributed to Gai's teaching and Lee's determination, even if they were arguably the strangest teacher and student anyone anywhere would ever meet.

Naruto checked the sun to try and determine the time when he saw it was around two o'clock in the afternoon he decided to make his way over to the Hokage Tower. He knew there would not be any missions for him with the Chunin Exam coming up soon but he might be able see if the Hokage would let him take a look at some jutsu scrolls. Naruto knew a fare number of jutsus but still could not perform them. Still if he knew what they were he could counter or avoid them better.

At the Hokage Tower the Jounin-sensei's were meeting in the Hokage's Office for nominating Gennins for the Chunin Exam. "We'll hear from the Rookie Gennin Teams' Jounin Sensei first," Sandaime said.

A Jounin with a beard and smoking a cigarette stepped forward first, "I. Sarutobi Asuma Jounin leader of Team 8 nominate Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji and Aburame Shino for the Chunin Exam."

Next to step up was a Jounin with silver hair, a mask over his mouth and nose, and his Hitai Ate over one eye, "I, Hatake Kakashi, Jounin leader of Team 7 nominate Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke for the Chunin Exam."

Finally Kurenai stepped up, "I, Yuuhi Kurenai, Jounin leader of Team 10 nominate Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Gin Noa for the Chunin Exam."

The Hokage sat back in his chair at the news, "All nine Rookie Gennin. First time in five years since a Rookie Gennin was nominated almost twenty since all nine. Either the Jounins are overestimating their students skills or we have a stronger group than average this year." Thinking back to the mission reports he read over just recently made him conclude, "I think it's that we have stronger group this years." He could not help but smile a little at that thought. Seeing a strong future in the strong Gennin almost made up for the horrifying amount of paperwork he had to do.

At this point a Chunin in the back pushed his way forward, "Hokage-sama please let me speak!" The group turned to the Chunin noticing he had a scar across his nose signifying him as Umino Iruka.

"Yes what is it Iruka?" asked the Hokage. His previous smile dropped a bit as he already knew Iruka's next comment would be.

"The Chunin Exam is too dangerous for the Rookie Gennin," Iruka began. "They were each my students at the Academy and I can tell you that they are not ready for the Exam."

"They may have been your students at the Academy, Chunin," Kakashi spoke up. "But now they are our subordinates. My team completed a B-Rank mission, where they faced a Hunter-nin Level Nuke-nin just two weeks ago and they performed quite well."

Many of the shinobi whispered on the news most had not heard of the mission to Wave and were impressed by the statement. Kurenai took this time to speak up as well, "My team also completed a high level mission, B-Rank bordering A-rank, fighting off shinobi trained bandits as well as two Jounin level Nuke-nins." She normally did not like to brag but a little competition between the Jounin senseis often came up.

Asuma took a long drag off his cigarette, "My team's ready." His team did not complete any high level mission but he still felt his team was ready. Especially Shino, the boy had a quite attitude but his tactical thinking was superb. His logical thought process aloud him to dissect and counter just about any strategy an opponent could come up with. Just what the examiners wanted to see in a Chunin.

"If you feel the need to test them yourself Iruka then feel free to proceed," the Hokage said. "Now we'll move on to the more experienced Gennin Teams." The aged leader of Konoha knew Iruka meant well and if he needed the reassurance of testing the Gennin than so be it.

Gai leapt forward over several shinobi in the room landing in his 'nice guy' pose in front of the Hokage. The room gave a collective groan, as they knew what was coming. "I Maito Gai, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, nominate Hyuuga Neji, Tamura Tenten, and the beautiful Rock Lee for the Chunin Exam!" the thick browed Jounin shouted near the top of his lungs. After many of the shinobi recovered from temporary hearing loss the rest of the Jounins continued to nominate their students.

After the meeting was finished the Jounins and Chunins left the Hokage's office to inform the necessary people who would be taking the Chunin Exam. As Naruto was waiting outside the Hokage's Office he saw the people leaving. Most simply ignored him but a few, the ones he did jobs with their teams, gave him a brief nod as a curiosity. One however paused for a brief moment to glare at the young mercenary. He had silver hair covered by a bandana. Naruto knew him as Mizuki, a Chunin from the Academy. He remembered him from various times he went to the Academy as Hinata's escort. Once the group passed, Naruto entered the Hokage's Office to ask if he could use his Library. As he did he could not help but be bothered by Mizuki, the glare contained more than the usual hate.

The next morning Hinata was waiting with her team for Kurenai to show up. The Jounin was a little behind schedule this morning but they were not overly concerned. After fifteen minutes of waiting the red eyed woman finally showed up. "Sorry I'm late," Kurenai apologized. "But I had to pick some things up this morning." She pulled out three sheets of paper and handed one to each student, "These are forms for the Chunin Exam. I have nominated all of you for it. Sign up or not as you wish, but in either case we won't be doing missions or training for a while."

The Gennin were so surprised by the announcement that they took the forms without even realizing it. Once their surprise passed, and they realized they had the forms, each Gennin all smiled at their sensei's faith in their growth. It was Kiba that spoke for them, "You bet we're going to take the Exam!" he turned to Hinata and Noa, "Right guys." The two nodded before he turned to his puppy, "Right Akamaru!" the nin-dog barked an affirmative wagging his tail.

"Alright, then report to room 301 next week for the Exam at 10:00 A.M.," Kurenai said. The three Gennin nodded and Kurenai disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"Well since there is no training today, I want to get home," Noa said. "I want to tell my parents I've been nominated for the Chunin Exam."

"I should returned as well," Hinata said. "Outosan will want to be informed as well."

"Yeah same here," Kiba agreed. "I guess we'll each other later then." The Inuzuka waved as he and Akamaru left. As he left his teammates heard him say, "Can't wait to show up that arrogant Uchiha."

A little bit latter Hinata met up with Naruto. He was coming back from a sparring secession with Rock Lee and had various bruises covering his body. It was good exercise for both youngsters though they tended to ache in the morning. "Naruto-kun, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine Hinata," Naruto answered. "Just got back from sparring with Lee. He said Gai-sensei has nominated his team for the Chunin Exam."

"Kurenai-sensei has done the same," Hinata replied.

"Well I know you'll do great," Naruto gave his friend a broad fox-like smile. Then instantly the smile left and Naruto became serious, "A couple of days ago I met a Gennin from Suna that came for the Exam. I did not even notice his arrival until he spoke. Ebisu said he was dangerous and told me to be careful around him."

"Who was this Gennin?" Hinata asked. Ebisu maybe a kiss-up be he was still a Jounin. A warning from him about another person should be taken very seriously.

"His name was Sabaku no Gaara," Naruto answered. "He has red hair, carries a gourd and looks like he hasn't slept in a while."

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for him," Hinata said. "Come on, let's head back home." The pair did not take more than four steps when they both dodged to the left and right as a pair of kunai flew by. Without a moments hesitation Hinata activated her Byakugan and zeroed in on the person that attacked them.

She found him twenty meters away preparing another set of Kunai. This time he was attaching a tag infused with chakra to each kunai. She signaled to Naruto the attacker's location and he sped off in his direction. Naruto was half way to the unknown person when he saw the kunai with the tag on it coming right at him. With a quick application of chakra to his feet Naruto started to glide across the ground and nimbly dodged the kunai. He then pulled out a pair of shuriken and threw them at his opponent. The man dodged the attack but was kicked in the stomach by Hinata and landed onto the ground. Naruto slid to a stop while putting a kunai right to the assailant's face. "Attacking the Hyuuga Heiress in broad daylight in the middle of Konoha is not the smartest move you can make," Naruto said.

"I never thought you would be a traitor, Iruka-sensei," Hinata said joining Naruto with her own kunai. Her Byakugan was active so she could see through the Henge (Transformation) Iruka had on.

Sighing in defeat, though he had a smile on his face, Iruka dropped the disguise. "I guess Kurenai-san was right. You are ready for the Chunin Exam. I'm sorry for attacking you but I had to make sure you were ready. If you didn't pass this little test I would have told the Hokage you weren't ready and he would have revoked your nomination."

Hinata, like all Hyuuga, was proficient at detecting when someone was lying by his or her body movements. Everything her Byakugan told her said Iruka was telling the truth. She put away her Kunai and Naruto followed suit. "Thank you for your concern Iruka-sensei, but did you have too attach explosive notes those kunai?"

Iruka gave a small chuckle, "Those tags weren't explosive notes. They were just flash notes and the kunai were blunted." He then turned to Naruto with an unreadable expression for a moment then his face became curious, "That ability you did to dodge the kunai, I've never actually seen anything like it. What was it and how did you do it?"

Naruto looked at the Chunin unsure what to do for a second. He was never able to get a good read on the Chunin. Iruka had always been cordial but there was something underneath the politeness that Naruto never could catch. "It's a chakra exercise I came up. It's basically the opposite of the wall walking exercise; instead of using chakra to stick you use your chakra to slide. The trick is to move you're chakra like a stream on the bottom of your foot while you push off. You have to maintain the proper rate of chakra movement otherwise you'll trip on the ground. You also have to be aware of the terrain as a loose rock or pebbled could also make you trip."

"Impressive," Iruka said. "Well I must be going. So long Hinata-san, Uzumaki-san." The Chunin left without another word.

Not much longer at the Hyuuga Compound, Naruto and Hinata entered the training area where Hiashi was working with Hanabi on her Jyuuken Kata as Neji and Hizashi observed from the side. "That is enough for now Hanabi," Hiashi instructed. "Welcome back Hinata, Naruto."

"Otosan (father), Ojisan (uncle), Neji-niisan (brother), Hanabi-imoto (little sister)," Hinata greeted.

"Hiashi-sama, Hizashi-sama, Neji, Hanabi," Naruto followed soon after

"Kurenai-sensei has nominated my team for the Chunin Exam," Hinata announced.

"So I have heard," Hiashi replied.

"I had heard that all the Rookie Gennin have been nominated," Hizashi added. "First time in a long while that all the Rookie Gennin Teams have been nominated."

"That means Uchiha Sasuke will be attending," Neji commented. "Word around Konoha is that he recently activated his Sharingan."

"That would make him a formidable opponent," Hanabi spoke up. Discussions like this were common among the twins' family and everyone usually contributed at least a little. She like reading on the Hyuuga family history and found out about the Sharingan was derived from the Byakugan. She knew its abilities and the advantage it gave the possessor.

"I wouldn't be so sure Hanabi," Naruto said. "While the Sharingan is a strong Bloodlimit, it is the person that yields it that determines whether or not it is effective."

"I take it that your opinion of Uchiha is not favorable?" Hiashi asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Unless he has improved since the last time I saw him, I am not. The last time I saw him he was not much stronger than he was at the Academy. The Sharingan may give an advantage over most people, but if he relies too much on it he will be defeated, especially against people that specialize in Taijutsu like us or Neji's teammate Lee, or if he faces a person with a Bloodlimit that the Sharingan can't predict." Naruto shook his head again, "In all honesty I know he wants to get stronger, anyone can see that, but I think something is either holding him back or not pushing him enough."

"It may be a little of both," Hiashi stated. "His past haunts him and while Kakashi is one of the strongest Jounin in the village, his attitude is not all that inspiring as a sensei."

"The person you both should be weary of if Aburame Shino," Hizashi said. "The Aburame Clan are all highly intelligent and their Kikai (Destruction Bugs) can drain chakra as fast as we can block it. I have been on missions with his father and have seen them in action."

"There is another person you should watch out for," Naruto spoke up drawing everyone's attention. "I already told Hinata about him. He's from Suna and his name in Sabaku no Gaara."

"That would be the Kazekage's son," Hiashi mused. "This definitely has the making for a memorable Exam." The Hyuuga Head turned serious focusing on Hinata and Neji, "Be sure to show everyone the strength of our Clan and of our Village." The two Gennin gave a stiff nod silently promising to give the Exam everything they had.

Authors Note: I added the part about Sasuke because it is my belief that his growth was because of Naruto. The competition between Naruto and Sasuke is what pushed him to become as strong as he was. Some like Shikamaru would not push anyone and Kakashi really did not train his team except for the tree climbing which I believe he should have taught in the beginning.