Naruto != mine

~Chapter 9~

Shino Aburame stood opposite Shikamaru Nara in the arena where their chance to reach the third part of the Chunin exam would be decided. "Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, as was his habit whenever he had to do something even remotely strenuous. Chronic laziness was a common trait in the males of the Nara clan, along with a tendency to marry women with strict, dominant personalities who rendered them "whipped".

Shino, on the other hand, remained silent and inscrutable as always behind his dark glasses and high collar. Not unusual for a clan well-known for their stoicism. They were also known for their usage of their trademark kikaichu for combat, tracking, and other tasks, living in symbiosis with the insects, providing both living quarters and sustenance for the chakra-eaters in exchange for their aid.

The two clan heirs faced off across from one another as the proctor took a position between them. "Hajime!" the proctor announced, dropping his hand and clearing the vicinity of the two fighters. Shikamaru immediately raised his hand. "I forfeit on account of being unable to defeat Aburame-san with my current equipment and in this environment," Shimamaru stated. Shino merely raised an eyebrow, but he nodded. "Winner by forfeit, Shino Aburame," Genma said, looking a bit irritated. "Lazy son of a bitch. I'm willing to bet that the decision was motivated more by laziness than combat conditions," Ren commented, much to the chagrin of Asuma, who was sitting nearby. "Unfortunately, I think he might be right," Asuma groaned, facepalming.

The next match was between Naruto and Kiba. "Alright, Akamaru, we got an easy one!" Kiba said exuberantly, leaping into the ring. Before Naruto could follow suit, Ren put a hand on his shoulder. "Taunt him, bait him, and lure him into a trap. Try to take out the dog first," Ren muttered, getting a nod from his orange-clad teammate. Despite his behavior and lack of knowledge, Naruto was actually quite clever and sly, and capable of great feats of trickery and deception. This talent had started out as pranking, but now it was honed into a much more dangerous ability. Naruto may never be a large-scale strategist, but as a squad-level tactician he was a dangerous one. Combined with how he had recently picked up some new abilities, this would not be the cakewalk Kiba imagined.

Naruto dropped down into the combat arena, wearing a sly fox-smile. "What are you grinning about, dead-last?" Kiba asked, "Are you looking forward to being beaten?" "Far from it, mutt. I'm just thinking about how you'll be whimpering when I beat you, and your little dog too," Naruto replied, cracking his neck. "Fight!" The proctor started off the match and got clear. "This is in the bag," Kiba said. "Just what I was thinking," Naruto replied, "Now, why don't we settle this like men. No backup, just you and me, one-on-one. After all, if I'm as weak as you claim, you don't need any help." "Fine by me, loser. Akamaru, sit this one out," Kiba ordered the white dog, who went to sit on the edge of the arena. Naruto then settled into a taijutsu stance. Unlike the unrefined brawling which he used before, now he had an actual style. It was fast, brutal, and direct, going for painful, punishing strikes to batter down opponents. It suited Naruto well, as it allowed him to pummel opponents from all sides with his kage bunshin.

Kiba, meanwhile, used a clan technique that lent him a bestial appearance and took his own stance, a hunched, primal position. "Come on, mutt. Are you afraid of the dead-last? Or are you just full of shit?" Naruto taunted. Kiba growled and launched himself at Naruto, only to be met by a knee to the solar plexus followed up by an elbow to the back, leaving him gasping for air laying on the ground. Naruto backed away and resettled into his stance. "What's the matter? Can't take a hit?" A low growl was Kiba's only reply as he launched himself at Naruto once more. This time he scored a hit, raking his claws across Naruto's jacket, ruining the garment. Naruto simply ripped off and tossed aside the coat, leaving him in a blue short-sleeve with his red spiral on the back. He barely dodged the Inuzuka's next attempt, a gatsuuga which nearly gutted him. However, Naruto was far from finished. He formed his hands into a distinctive cross-shaped seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A mass of clones now stood around the original. Kiba immediately attacked again, only to be suddenly blown off course by a futon: daitoppa. Naruto's clones proceeded to grab the canine boy and bound him with wire and proceeded to dispel. The original now used the wire to drag Kiba to him and unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of kidney punches. He finally ended with a vicious knee to the groin followed by an axe kick, leaving a thoroughly beaten Kiba on the ground whimpering in pain. "Naruto Uzumaki is the winner," Genma announced as Kiba was taken away by medics. "Well done, Naruto," Kakashi said, giving his student an eye smile. "I thought for sure that Kiba would win. How did the Academy dead-last improve so much?" Kurenai wondered aloud. "By training. He is by no means a natural genius, but he is tireless in the pursuit of a goal," Kakashi answered as he returned to his seat.

The next match was between Hinata and Neji Hyuga, and it was indeed to a spectacle. Hinata was initially uncertain, but after some encouragement by Naruto she called upon some inner reserve of determination and proceeded to show just why the Hyuga and their Jyuken were feared as she and Neji matched each other blow for blow, but the Branch family prodigy got the upper hand, and was about to unleash a lethal blow when he was stopped by the sensei and the proctor. The medics came out and took the severely injured Hinata away for treatment and Neji returned to the stands.

The next match was if anything more brutal. Rock Lee fought Gaara, and though he shed his extremely heavy weights an opened the inner gates, he was in the end caught by Gaara's sand and had his arm and leg crushed. He was rushed to the hospital while Gaara returned to the stands, cold as ever.

The next match was between Karui, a dark-skinned redhead from the Kumo team who wore a sword which resembled a lengthened ninjato with white wrappings and a red sheath and same on her back, and Chouji. Chouji was initially unwilling to fight, but after Asuma promised him a meal if he won, he eagerly jumped into the fray. However, his body enlargement techniques proved to be ineffective, and before long he was being cut up by the Kumo kunoichi's swordsmanship as she nimbly dodged his slow attacks. Eventually, the pain and blood loss caught up to him and he passed out and got rushed to the hospital. As Karui walked back up to where her teammates were seated, Ren nodded to her. "That was some impressive swordsmanship. Who taught you?" He asked. "He is not allowed outside the village for certain reasons, so I am filling in for him. Darui at your service" came the reply from behind him. He turned to see a dark-skinned man in Kumo gear with white hair and a large sword with what appeared to be a folding blade on his back, which perplexed Ren, but he brushed it aside. "I am Ren Senju. It is a pleasure to meet you, Darui-san," the Senju heir said, offering a hand to Darui, which the large man took. "Quite a grip you got there," Darui noted. "I have my reasons. But that will have to wait, my name is up. It has been a pleasure, but I have to go." With that Ren used a mist shunshin to get to the center of the arena. "This might not be as dull as I expected," Darui mused as Ren reappeared. His opponent, Omoi, the only male Kumo genin, strode across from him.

He wore what appeared to be pretty standard Kumo gear, and had dark skin and a rather neutral look. A sucker was in his mouth while a long shinobigatana much like his teammate's was sheathed on his back. "Kick his ass, Omoi!" shouted Karui. Ren merely took an iaijutsu stance and pressed his thumb against Mizuchi's tsuba to pop the habaki free from the saya. "I have a proposition for you, Omoi-san," Ren said, "A pure kenjutsu battle, may the best swordsman win?" "Alright," Omoi shrugged and drew his blade. "Begin," the proctor barely managed to get out of the way in time as Mizuchi arced through the air towards Omoi's neck. The genins' blades clashed as Omoi intercepted the strike. What followed to most was nothing but a deadly dance dictated by the rhythm of clashing steel as the swordsmen engaged in a contest of skill and dexterity. Omoi had a style which seemed to be similar to the style Ren had gotten from Hayate, but with more emphasis on defense. However, the dance was interrupted when Ren blocked a downward slash and pivoted so that he was behind the blade facing the same way as Omoi and drove an elbow into his opponents gut to stun him and placed Mizuchi at his throat. "The winner is Ren Senju," Genma announced. Ren moved away and sheathed his weapon as Omoi did the same. "I thank you for the match, Omoi-san. It is a pleasure to cross blades with one as skilled as yourself," Ren said, bowing to the Kumo genin before returning. As he returned to his seat, he was stopped by Samui, the blonde he had spoken with before the second exam. "That was quite cool," she said, a ghost of a smile on her face. "Thank you, Samui-san. I look forward to seeing your match," Ren replied, giving her a small bow before continuing to his seat.

Alas, it was not to be, as Kabuto have up on a lame-ass excuse of being "out of chakra", to which Ren muttered a quiet "bullshit". The genin were given their matches and dismissed for one month to improve their skills. Team 7 was pulled aside by Kakashi for an impromptu meeting. "You all did well making it this far guys, but now you really have to buckle down. Sasuke, I am going to be working with you for the training period. Sakura, you need to improve your physical training, so I'm sending you to work with Gai. Naruto, go to the Sandaime's office tomorrow morning. He said he has arranged a special tutor for you. All the details are on these slips of paper," Kakashi said, distributing the aforementioned notes. "Ren, I tried to get Yugao Uzuki to continue your kenjutsu training, but she refused. It appears she blames you still for her fiancee's death." "That is alright. I already have some plans. Thank you for trying, though." With that the team dispersed, with Kakashi leading Sasuke away to seal his "gift" from Orochimaru while the others returned home to rest.

The next day Ren stood in a clearing in the forest surrounding his clan compound. "Alright, let's try it," he muttered, cutting his thumb slightly with a kunai before forming handseals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A small cloud if smoke appeared and when it cleared Ren saw… an egg. "Huh," Ren said as the apparently not-yet born eagle poofed away. He tried again with more chakra, this time getting a newborn chick. "Small improvement," Ren muttered. It went on on this vein, Ren incrementally increasing the amount of chakra he used until finally he summoned a light-gray eagle around the size of a house cat. "Good day, Eagle-san. I am Ren Senju. What is your name?" He asked the raptor. "I am Washitoru, son of Washitoshi of the Eagle Clan. I take it you are the one who summoned me?" Asked the bird, cocking its head and giving him a stern visual examination. "Yes. I wish to inquire as to whether as a summoner of your clan I had access to any special techniques, combat styles, or other knowledge kept by your clan," Ren said politely. "Take a hold of my wing and I can take you with me to the aerie. There you can ask the Scroll Keeper, Ryujin-sama. He is in charge of such things," Washitoru said, offering a wing. "I thank you, Washitoru-san," Ren said, taking hold of the appendage as bird and boy vanished in a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Ren found himself standing before a tunnel into mountain which appeared to have been hewn into the mountain by the claws of some ancient creature. "It was a pleasure, Washitoru-san," Ren said, bowing before entering the tunnel. At the end he saw a warm, flickering light, and when the tunnel ended he found himself in a massive cavern with honeycombed walls, presumably containing scrolls, and multiple levels lit by paper lanterns. The most notable part, though, was the creature who sat at the center of the massive stone library.

It was a massive dragon, easily the size of the Kyuubi, with many smaller individuals moving around it. Its serpentine body was coated in scales which were a deep, oceanic blue, and it had wicked claws at the tips of its five-fingered feet. It lowered its whiskered face upon hearing Ren approach and affixed him with a piercing gaze from stormy gray eyes. "Welcome, Ren-san. You are are the first human in over a century to visit my library," the dragon said, its voice a deep rumble. And thus is how Ren Senju met Ryujin, the Scroll Keeper and Lord of the Mizuchi (water dragons). Ren was taken under the dragon's wing and taught about dragon suiton manipulation, the history of the Elemental nations, and even picked up a new taijutsu style, called Washi no Tsume, which used swift strikes to deal many blows in rapid hit-and-run assaults. In terms of kenjutsu, inspired by the fluidity of the dragons' movements, he made his own style more fluid and flexible to flow around enemies and their attacks in addition to finally naming it. As a final gift from Ryujin, he was also given a second summon of a unique nature.

"Ryujin-sensei, before we do this, I must ask, will it cancel out my contract with the eagles?" Ren asked as Ryujin. "No, Ren-san. We and the eagles share an ancient alliance, and Washinushi-dono has already consented," Ryujin said. "Now, the Mizuchi Clan does not use a scroll, but a tattoo. Hold out your arm, please," Ryujin instructed. Ren did so, presenting his sword arm to the dragon. "To summon a dragon, apply blood to the tattoo and focus chakra," Ryujin said, dipping its claw in sealing ink and positioning it over Ren's arm. "Prepare yourself, this may hurt." The massive dragon tapped the Senju's arm with the tip of his ink-soaked claw, and the ink spread itself over the Senju Heir's arm and took the shape of a gray-and-blue dragon twining itself around his forearm from its tail at his elbow up to the head at his wrist. Ren gritted his teeth as the ink etched itself into his skin, leaving a burning sensation. "Now, Ren, you will need far larger reserves to even consider summoning a high-ranking dragon, but the lower-level Clan members will be able to come to your aid. Go and say your goodbyes to the Eagles and take your leave of the aerie."

When Ren arrived back in Konoha at the Senju clan compound where he left from, two days before the start of the Chunin exams. He went into the entranceway and was met by the sight of Tsunade and Shizune sitting in the foyer. Hearing his footsteps, they turned around. Shizune's first reaction was to glomp him, crying. Tsunade, meanwhile, stomped towards her downed relative with murder in her eyes. Ton-ton merely cowered in the corner. "Hello, Oba-san. What brings you back to Konoha?" Ren asked nervously as Shizune squeezed him tightly enough to cause mild discomfort. "You go missing for a month prior to the Chunin exams' final stage, where you are set to appear, coinciding with the departure of many foreign nin after an attempt was made on your life by Orochimaru. We thought you were kidnapped or dead. Sarutobi-sensei called me in to tell me this. We thought we had lost you! Where were you all this time?" Tsunade demanded, glaring down at him. "I was training with the Eagle Summons. I got the contract after an eagle saved me from the Snakes when Orochimaru sent me to their summon realm during the Chunin exam. The elder and the Boss summon offered me the chance to sign the contract. I managed to summon one of the smaller eagles and he brought me with him to the aerie where the Eagles reside. There I met the Scroll Keeper, who got me the knowledge I sought. I spent the rest of my time training," Ren said, glad that his right arm was hidden, preventing his new tattoo from coming into view and causing any more awkward questions or possibly painful repercussions for him. "Shizune-neesan?" Ren asked, trying to wake , only to find that she had gone to sleep with him still in her tight grip. "Help?" Ren asked Tsunade, worried. "Nah," Tsunade replied, walking away, going to inform the Hokage that Ren had reappeared.

The next day, after an awkward breakfast in which Shizune and Ren avoided eye contact due to embarrassment from the compromising position they were in the day before, the Senju heir prepared all of his equipment for the final stage of the exams. He now wore a single grey arm warmer similar to those worn by ANBU but longer, covering up his summoning tattoo. He had also swapped out his standard forehead protector for a bandana-style, in order to keep his hair, which had grown out over the course of his month at the aerie, out of his eyes. Checking his inventory, he nodded and went to the clan library to read, intending to rest for tomorrow.