A/N: MWAHAHAHA! I officially luv this story! The characters have truly progressed in ways that I had not even considered, branching out both literally and figuratively as well as emotionally. Amazing what a simple act of kindness can do, no? Now, for those of you who still want Jiraiya to train Naruto, you need not worry. I have plaaaans for that wilely old hermit and they involve a lot of laughter and training on Naruto's part XD But putting that aside, I've been away from this story for far too long, as I'm sure you have, dear reader. On that note, I'd reccommend going back and rereading everything from the beginning, just so we're reaquainted. And with that...

...away we go!

"Are you really that dense, gaki? Do you not see those two pining after you?!"

~Jiraiya.

The Coming Storm

Sakura was in agony.

Complete and utter, mindblowing agony. She would have said more, might've given better phrase to the excruciating pain she was experiencing, were it not for the lance of agony inside her stomach! The kunoichi felt as if she'd been stabbed. Her eyes bulged and her mouth worked wordlessly. It felt as if she'd been roasted alive and then set ablaze all over again. Her legs buckled and she pitched forward onto her hands and knees, stifling her screams in the warmth of her pillow. Her solesolace was the fact that she was still in her room; her parents would've lost their minds if they saw their only daughter bucking and writhing in pain.

How was this happening? Surely this pain couldn't be from Anko's training; her new sensei had only trained her for one day and even then the most they'd done was practice chakra control. So why was she suffering so much pain then?!

Little did she know, the alteration Jiraiya had been made to Naruto's seal was the cause of her pain. They were linked by his tenant's chakra; what happened to one happened to the other. And the releasing of the Five-Pronged Seal had altered the chakra inside her, suppressed until this very instant, and released it, leaving it to sear through her coils...like a thing alive. Strengthening her. Empowering her. She would emerge stronger, from this inner transformation...if she survived it.

"This won't beat me." the words rose up deep inside her, stifling all else. "It...won't...

Sakura clutched her stomach in pain and tried to stand; only to drop to the ground in a heap. The seal started glowing again as more pain went through her body. She tried waiting until the seal stopped glowing to rise from her pained crouch, but to no avail. Instead, Sakura continued to roll around in pain. Blood started leaking from her mouth creating small splotches of crimson on the otherwise pristine white of her sheets.

'Not like this.'

It felt like someone had poured acid inside her skull. And it hurt. Oh, it hurt so much. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to breathe, struggled to fight against this excriuciating agony consuming the frayed strands of her conciousness; struggled to survive despite the overwhelming blackness blotting out her vision. Was this it then? Was she going to die? Was she going to perish without telling him how she felt? Would she simply fade away, with no one to remember her by?

Not like this!

And then, as quickly as the agony had begun, it subsided. The pain, once so prominent in her mind, simply vanished, leaving Sakura to wonder if it had ever been there at all. Slowly, tentatively, she rose from the bed, muscles stiff and sore, skin tingling, every inch. There was a subtle grace to her movements, one that hadn't been there before. She felt different. Changed. Almost unwilling, she risked a glance at herself in the nearby bedroom mirror, jade eyes creaking open with a hesitance she wasn't sure she felt. What she saw there took her breath away...in a good way.

"What the...?!"

Had the same thing happened to Naruto wherever he was? She hoped not!


"Achoo!"

"Heh," Jiraiya chuckled as the blonde scrubbed at the back of his nose. "That girl of yours must be thinking about you, gaki."

'If we were still in the hot springs...I'd throw his smug ass in the water!'

Sputtering something about old men and their perversions, the blonde picked himself back up, battered knees scraping the grassof the training grounds. His orange jumpsuit stood in tatters, his sleeve all but charred to nothingess on his right arm. Burn marks lined the length of that limb-yet another sign of his failure to utilize the chidori-even the ground itself was riddled with scars further contributing to his countless attempts and all too numerous failures.

"Why don't you try it again, Naruto?" Kakashi suggested, attempting mollifying his student. "They say the twentieth time is the charm." He succeeded.

"Alright...

Naruto performed the seals as instructed, careful to modulate the neccessary amount of chakra this time. He clasped his wrist, bracing himself once more against a potentially painful-and potentially lethal-backlashes of energy. He felt them building up in his arm even now, flowing into his fingertips, seeking release. Wary, he granted it. The result was almost instantaneous Sparks splayed across his wrist and erupted in his palms as he struggled to maintain the balance, gathering there

Then came the chirping.

It started softly at first, the faintest of cries as the hairs on the back of his neck bristled. Then it began to build. His hair standing on end, Naruto began to feel it; the chakra in his veins changing, charging, channeling into raw energy as it gathered against his hand. Before he knew it, one thousand birds were chirping around his ears. He squinted through that terrible brilliance, seeking the source of the sudden racket, and he found it right before his very eyes, careful not to be distracted this time.

There, clenched with the fingers of his fist, gleaming a small flare, was the Chidori.

"Alright!" Naruto's triumphant shout sent birds shrieking from their perches. "Finally got this damned thing to work!"

"Yeah," Jiraiya quipped dryly. "It only took you twenty-one tries...

The boy growled.

"Semantics!"

"Hai, hai, that's very good." Kakashi congratulated, soothing the pair. "Now, Naruto, try hitting the armed target over there." He inicated the wooden dummy located on the opposite end of the clearing, armed with the automated shuriken launchers they'd been utilizing earlier in the morning. "Remember, you don't have to get it on your first try; its only important that you try not to get hit-

Ba-kram!

Both men blanched as Naruto exploded in an unexpected burst of speed, blurring forward in a streak of blue and orange. There was a moment of silence as the launchers reacted to the sudden motion, letting fly all the shuriken and kunai as one. Naruto didn't slow, not even for an instant. One moment he seemed to be standing still the next...he'd sheathed his Chidori to the elbow in the dummy they'd prepared. There was a moment of silence as he stood there, right arm fully extended, eyes narrow and intent.

Then the poor caricature shattered into a thousand pieces, showering everyone with debris. Naruto extracted his clawed hand from the remains, grinning beatifically at the sparks still scrawling across the limb. He'd evaded all the kunai without so much as a single scratch

"Yes!" He crowed, certain of his success. "I finally got it! Ha! Just wait till Sakura-chan sees this! So what's next?!" His words left both men left blinking owlishly at their student's, alarmed at their student's sudden, and unexpected progress. Especially Kakashi.

"Jiraiya-sama..." Konoha's infamous copy-nin gulped, "did he just use Hiraishin-"

"Unconcsiously." the sanin finished with a small smile. "Tch. You weren't kidding, Hatake. This really is Minato's brat...

"So?" Kakashi whispered as Naruto bounded toward them. "What's next?"

"I thought you had that covered!"

"Well, I didn't expect him to learn it the chidori in a single day!" Kakashi shot back. "He learned the Rasengan in half the time!"

(Flashback)

Jiraiya grinned.

"This is a jutsu that took the Yondaime three years to master." Jiraiya stated sagely. "I've already told you the principle of it, so it might take awhile...

Naruto held out his right palm and began to channel chakra into it with his left. Focus. Rotation. Force. He channeled all these elements into the palm of his hand, honing the chakra within as it took shape. It was really made to sound difficult, his newfound intelligence found it all too easy to apply the necessary amount of control.

It was the Rasengan.

"Like this?"

Jiraiya's glower was barely concealed.

"B-But how?!"

(End Flashback)

"That...had nothing to do with me!"

"Perhaps you're angry because it took you all those years to learn that jutsu?"

"Che!"

Jiraiya backed off, glowering. True, the boy did seem to absorb jutsu at an almost prodigious rate. It had taken him slightly longer to master the chidori, but even less to understand the principle and theory behind that of Minato's original jutsu. If things continued at this rate, there wouldn't be anything left to teach him! He already seemed to be quite in control of his bloodline, so there was nothing they could do in that. Indeed, those lessons seemed wasted on him.

Unless...


(Meanwhile...)

"Stop!"

Hinata toppled backwards, cringing, covering her face as the genjutsu faded. The vision of her worst fear gradually began to fade away, replaced by the stern visage of her sensei. Kurenai Yuhi stared down at her, those fierce crimson eyes seeming to stare through her bore into her very soul. To peer into those blood red orbs was to step into the abyss itself. Hinata shuddered. She was called the Mistress of Genjutsu for a reason! Even so, she couldn't help but cower when faced with the memory of the illusion.

"Stand up, Hinata." her sensei demandred. "Didn't you say you wanted to grow stronger?" There was no cruelty to be heard there in her tone; but neither was there kindness either. Hinata had know ahead of timel that Kurenai-sensei's training regiment was brutal but this...this was like running her brain through a blender! How much more could she take before she broke?

"Are you going to quit?"

Struggling to conquer her fears, the heiress shook her head. She couldn't give up! Not here! She had something to prove-not just to Naruto, but herself as well. To prove that she wasn't a weakling, that she wasn't just an inexperienced girl following in someone's shadow. She'd taken after his nindo true, but from there she was determined to become her own person. That she was better for him better than Sakura. No matter the cost so long as it was within reason. Hinata didn't hate Sakura after all. She simply wanted to show that she could do better. She had to...

"Then. Stand. Up." Kurenai's voice bit into her reverie and ripped her out of it.

Grimacing, Hinata obliged. Knees knocking, legs trembling, she found her footing upon the training grounds once more. A flash of sympathy flickered in Kurenai's cold eyes for the briefest instant, then it was gone. With a scowl that could make the devil himself cringe, her mentor sarted forward.

"Do you understand why I'm doing this?" Hinata found herself momentarily baffled by the question.

"To...make me stronger?"

"In a sense, yes." was the reply.

"There is physical strength and then there is mental strength." Kurenai slowed to a halt and held up a single finger. "Sakura may have the advantage in the former, so we're going to work on the latter first. Remember, you don't have to defeat an enemy in close combat. You just have to break them. Once you've understood that, then I'll try to teach you my technique. We'll utilize your newfound Jyuuken style as a last resort if we all but have to. Remember, you just might stand a chance against Sakura, but only if you fight with your head, and not your heart. Now, are you prepared?"

"H-Hai!"

"Then brace yourself!"

Hinata did just that as Kurenai cast the genjutsu again...


"So...why did you bring me way out here?" Naruto asked sometime later as they stood in the wilderness. He'd been brought out here all of a sudden, and asked if he had any regrets. What a strange question to ask! He had none! The Chunin Exams were fast approaching, his relaitionship with Sakura had never been better, and he'd already mastered two A-Rank Jutsu in less than a week! What more could he ask for! When he told this to his mentors, only silence greeted him.

Kakashi and Jiraiya exchanged a glance.

"Sorry," was all Jiraiya said as he pushed Naruto with enough force to send him well, very far back. When Naruto finally stopped he found that he was in the middle of a deep cavern, suspended over the abyss. For a moment he did just that; he hung there, waiting for something to happen. Then gravity sank its claws into him and he began to fall. He tried to use his chakra to grip the sides but they were too wet. He then tried to use his chakra swords, but due to the speed he was falling at he couldn't get them into the wall fast or deep enough. Just as Jiraiya had planned, he was backed into a corner and would now have to use the power of his tenant to survive.

"YOU MOTHER FUUUUUUU-

Any minute now...

"Are you certain he's alright?" Kakashi glanced down into the ravine worriedly.

"He'll be fine." Jiraiya reasusred. "If he's anything like Minato, he'll-

POOF!

A thunderous explosion of smoke and steam erupted from within the revine, showering the pair in mist.

"Ha!" The sanin cackled triumphantly. "You owe me a hundred yen, Kakashi!"

"I never made a bet with you, Jiraiya-sama...

Together they peered into the smoke

Laying there in the gorge was a giant toad.

To his relief, he saw Naruto sitting on top of the toad's head. Both boy and toad were swearing up a storm. There was only one problem. That toad was Gamabunta! The Toad Boss! For Naruto to have summoned him, out of allthe toads...

"Jiraiya!" The toad boss roared, "What the hell am I doing here?!"

"Geh!" the sanin choked. "You've gotta be kidding me...

"You reap what you sow." Kakashi shrugged.

"Gyahahaha!" Gamabunta cackled below, responding to something Naruto must've said. "As if I'd belive that a puny little snot like you could someone me!"

"But its true! I did summon you!"

Naruto glared at the toad for a moment longer and let his rage build; both men could feel his killer intent from here.

Then he summoned the chains.

Gamabunta hadn't been expecting that; he'd just enough time to snarl before the blonde pierced his back and locked himself into place. His weapons didn't dig deep; just enough to bind himself to the boss without fear of plummeting to his death. Bunta's response, you ask?

"Leggo of me, brat!"

"Fuck you!" Naruto snapped! "I'm not letting go!"

"This is going to take awhile, isn't it?" Kakashi was already pulling out his orange book.

Jiraiya's right eye twitched.

"Show some faith in him, damnit!"


(Hours later)

"Well I'll be damned...

Jiraiya scratched at the back of his head as he surveyed the destruction the toad boss had wrought. Half the forest had been leveled during his attempt to free himself of the bothersome blond and still more destruction stretched out to the west in the face of the setting sun. To think, Naruto would've succeeded where even the Fourth Hokage had failed...

"Shit, I didn't expect him to beat you, Bunta-san."

"Hmph!" The Toad Boss harrumphed, his voice thundering down on them. "The brat got lucky!"

"Bullshit!" Naruto barked, retracting his weapons and staggering to his feet. "I won, fair and square! I'm your master now, got it?"

"Grrrr!"

The blonde chuckled for a moment longer before his eyelids began to droop. True, he'd managed to hang on well past the time limit, but he'd all but exhausted himself in doing. To say that he was running on fumes by now was moot in point. He could barely stand, let alone walk. And he was tired. So very tired. He could just close his eyes right now and nod off. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. An excellent idea...

"I...think I'll take a nap now...

Naruto didn't know when he fell, only that he did and Kakashi was there to catch him. Yes. Sleep. That...

...sounded quite nice right about now.

A/N: And there you have it! After so many months away from this story I have finally returned! I sincerely hope ya'll have been enjoying my MASSIVE updating spree as of late! Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into me; my muse has gone into overdrive and she's been pestering me nonstop to update! Even though I need to find a job up in York to replace the one I have down here in Atlgen(commuting an hour and a half back and fourth is a total b**ch by the way) my mind is irrevocably on my stories. A lot has happened in this chapter and I would've liked to add more-sadly however, work is calling my name.

I look forward to reading your many reviews later tonight, dear readers! If you're wondering what happened to Sakura...well, you'll see soon enough hehehe...! Chunin Exam Finals start next chap and of course, we get to see Hinata vs Sakura...gee, that'll be a catfight for the ages!

So...in the immortal words of Atlas...

...Review...Would Ya Kindly? And of course, enjoy the previews!)

(Preview)

Naruto actually laughed at his opponent's remark; the sound carried across the stadium and cascaded into the stands.

"You're right!" he admitted cheerfully. "The training that my senseis' had planned for me only took a few days to master. What I learned the three weeks after that; that's going to knock your socks off." Raising his right hand, he summoned a rasengan to his palm. In his left crackled the sound of a thousand birds. "Hey, what do you get when you combine a Rasengan and a chidori? Don't know? I'll tell ya. When these two techniques of my sensei become one...an even greater jutsu is formed! You should be thankful! You'll be the first to see it!"

Grinning he, smashed both palms together, mashing the rasengan and chidori into one. Creating...

The ultimate jutsu!

R&R! =D