Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (either the story or the character) or any of its component parts or associated bits of intellectual property. I do think it's pretty cool, and enjoy examining it through the looking glass of "What If". The originator, Masashi Kishimoto, is a creative guy and deserves credit for his work.

"The last match will be fought by Aburame Shino and Dosu Kinuta," Hayate said, summoning the final pair to the combat area.

Shino was silent as usual, and Dosu's manner was similar. Both of them had seen their teammates suffer defeat at the hands of formidable opponents. Being last was a bit of a break for Dosu, given how beaten his team had been when they arrived, since it gave him a chance to rest.

One of his legs was still heavily damaged from the battle in the forest, and he had no hope of moving quickly with that injury, but other than that he was in reasonably good shape. Shino had heard a bit about his conduct in that fight, but not enough to nail down all of the Sound ninja's abilities with any certainty. Dosu knew absolutely nothing about his opponent.

As a result, it was a bit of a surprise to him when he saw insects crawling out of Shino's collar and spreading out to either side of the Leaf ninja.

His first thought was that they might begin to bite him, although Dosu had very little skin exposed. After a moment of waiting, he decided that he would have to make the first move, and advanced at a jogging pace. While his limp was noticeable, he could make up for it to an extent with the skilled use of chakra.

Shino stood perfectly still as he allowed his opponent to close with him. When Dosu finally felt he was close enough, he struck with his right arm. Shino evaded the blow, as expected, but Dosu activated the device he wore, sending waves of sound infused with his own chakra to attack his opponent.

Before they could do significant harm, however, Shino executed a substitution technique. The attack hit an insect clone instead of its intended target, and the bugs began to swarm toward the Sound ninja. He tried to adjust his sound attack to find a frequency that would drive them off or destroy them, and soon managed to make the mass of insects recoil in apparent discomfort. He would have preferred to destroy them, but didn't want to risk them getting close while he tried out more frequencies.

Dosu turned in a circle, trying to catch sight of his opponent again, but Shino circled in the same direction for a moment before moving in closer to attack. His first blow clipped the side of Dosu's head and the bandaged man staggered a few steps to one side before restoring his balance.

"You should give up," Shino told him. "You began this match at too much of a disadvantage to win. If you continue, you may be severely injured."

"My leg won't stop me from defeating you," Dosu told the Leaf ninja stubbornly. "Your hand to hand skills are obviously weak, and those bugs of yours won't help you now. I'd say you're the one at a disadvantage."

Shino kept circling, occasionally attacking in bursts. Dosu held him at bay, but soon felt himself beginning to tire. At first, he chalked the fatigue up to his injuries; he must not have recovered as well as he thought. Soon, however, he realized it was something else.

"What have you done?" he asked his opponent as he panted for breath.

"Your leg wasn't the disadvantage I referred to earlier," Shino replied.

Dosu abruptly realized that the feeling of weakness he was experiencing wasn't purely physical; he was running out of chakra. He had been keeping his sound amplifier on continuously to keep the bugs at bay, but that shouldn't have drained him so quickly.

"My insects," Shino told him, "are quite obedient. They would not flee from a small discomfort."

Dosu fell to one knee in fatigue.

"They have many interesting traits, but I think the one that will interest you at the moment is that they consume chakra," Shino continued to explain. "As a result, you are currently on the verge of chakra exhaustion, which also causes unconsciousness. Had you kept a closer eye on them, rather than assuming you had figured out their weakness, you might have had a chance at victory."

Dosu collapsed, and Hayate called the final match.

"Aburame Shino is the victor."

…

With the preliminaries complete, those who had won were gathered once more.

"Congratulations to all of you," the Hokage told the assembled candidates. "You twelve will have a chance to become chuunin at the conclusion of this test. The final matches will be held in one month, so you'll have plenty of time to rest and even work to improve your skills. For those of you who are guests in our village, we have private training areas reserved so you can practice unobserved. If there is anything specific you need, your jounin-sensei can talk to our liaison officer, and we'll try to meet any reasonable requests. Now, there's one last thing."

Mitarashi Anko stepped forward with a box. "Each of you will take a number from this box. In the second exam and these preliminary matches, you had to adapt to unpredictable, unknown enemies. Now you've all seen what your opponents can do, and we want to know what you're capable of when you have time to plan. However, the finals are a bit different; instead of one match, you'll be fighting in a tournament. Since there are twelve of you, the last match may be a three-person free-for-all." She grinned, happily imagining the prospect. "It's not like there are always two sides in every conflict, after all."

"Winning your matches will not guarantee that you will receive a promotion," the Hokage broke in. "But those who last longer will have a greater opportunity to show their skills, so it improves your chances. I strongly advise you not to focus too much on your first scheduled enemy."

Once everyone had drawn a number and reported it, Anko summarized the results.

"Alright, it looks like the first match will be Uzumaki Naruto against Hyuuga Neji," she began. "For number two, we have Uchiha Sasuke matched with Kankurou. Third, Aburame Shino will face Nara Shikamaru. Fourth, Gaara will fight Rock Lee. Fifth, Temari and Yakushi Kabuto will fight, and the last one will be Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino."

…

After the group dispersed, Kakashi ushered his students off to an extremely private meeting with Mitarashi Anko and the Hokage himself, so they could give their reports firsthand. Sakura was hesitant to include a few of the details at first – particularly concerning her bloodlust while the seal was active – but Sasuke knew the whole truth already, so she couldn't very well withhold information now.

She found that being with her team was a soothing balm to her nerves. The Hokage was a man with a commanding presence at times, but he only radiated patience and concern throughout her entire explanation, never even interrupting her to ask a question. When Anko looked like she wanted to do so, he waved her to silence.

As for the proctor, she gave a very different impression now that the second exam was over. There was a slightly haunted look in her eyes when Sakura discussed how she felt under the seal's influence, and her expression at the end of the retelling was one of profound sympathy.

Before saying anything about what he had heard, the Hokage had Sasuke and Naruto fill in their parts of the story. They dredged up everything they could remember about their encounters with Orochimaru and the Sound ninjas, in particular, and finally Naruto mentioned the difficulty he had experienced when using chakra since Orochimaru knocked him out.

"It's like there's something off-balance inside," he tried to explain. The sensation was unlike anything he could remember, which made doing so difficult.

The Hokage puffed on his pipe for a few moments as he considered the matter. "Naruto, could you try to mold some chakra right now? A small amount. Don't use it for anything, just hold onto it, please," he directed.

Naruto did as ordered, and reported that he felt the sensation already, even without employing any techniques.

"I believe I understand, then," the Hokage said. "The seal used to imprison the nine-tails was designed to allow some of its chakra out, as you know. That chakra is meant to mix with your own so that you can make use of it. I believe Orochimaru has placed a second seal, one which prevents that from happening. That would effectively decrease your chakra reserves and explain the strange sensation."

"Well…is there any way to fix it?" Naruto asked after a momentary pause.

"Absolutely," the Hokage said with a small smile. "I think I know just the person to do it. It may take him a few days to get here, but you should be perfectly safe until then, so don't worry."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"Naruto, you should realize something," the Hokage warned him. "Orochimaru knows that you hold the fox, now. While it seems he has no interest in the demon for the moment, that could change. Regardless, you should assume that any Sound ninja or anyone else affiliated with Orochimaru is likely to know your secret. It's possible that it could even spread more widely, although I think it likely he will keep the information to himself. He is the greedy type. Either way, though, you must be more wary from now on. It's unfortunate that there was no way to hide the truth from him, but he would have seen it, so I certainly don't blame any of you."

The Hokage gave Team 7 a minute to process all of that before moving on to the next point.

"Sasuke," he said with a sigh, "it seems that you have begun to attract some very dangerous attention. I'm not really surprised; Orochimaru has said before that one of his goals is to learn every technique in existence, and the Sharingan would seem to be the perfect tool for doing that. He may be the first, and one of the most dangerous, but he won't be the last to covet your eyes. I'm sorry. All I can say is that the village will do everything we can to keep you safe from him, and to prepare you to defend yourself from him when the time comes, as I suspect it will. Beyond that, I congratulate you on awakening your eyes; that is not an easy thing to accomplish. The fact that Orochimaru let you live, while it is bad news in one regard, is also a high compliment to your skill and potential." The Hokage paused for a moment, as if phrasing his next thought carefully. "As twisted as he has become, Orochimaru has usually been a good judge of ability, so I would not be discouraged by the current gap between your skills and his. Time changes many things."

"That leaves you, Sakura," the Hokage said at last. "I can't tell you how relieved I am that you survived the cursed seal. The fact is that most people who receive it die, as far as our information indicates. Between one-quarter and one-third survive the implantation and initial activation of the seal."

Sakura paled at that, and she glanced at Kakashi. "Is there any chance that it will kill me now?"

"No," Anko broke in. "The strain when the seal is first placed on the body can be fatal, but once you survive that you're safe. However, it does have other effects, as you've already begun to notice."

Sakura stared at her for a moment. "You had one," the pink-haired young woman whispered. "Is that it?"

"Not quite," Anko answered with a grim smile. "It would be more accurate to say I have one. I've had it for years. For most of that time it has been suppressed so it couldn't affect me, an effect achieved by placing another seal on it. Unfortunately, Orochimaru himself may be able to force the seal's activation if he ever wants to. On the bright side," Anko said cheerfully, "I sincerely doubt he's interested in you. That means that unless you go looking for him, which would be suicidally stupid anyway, you should be able to keep it suppressed for basically the rest of your life."

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said quietly, "but I still don't understand exactly what the seal does. I watched Sakura's preliminary fight through my Sharingan, and it seemed to somehow generate a separate type of chakra for her to use, while simultaneously allowing her to channel more chakra than normal. But if that's all it does, then why would it affect the mind?"

"The truth is that we don't know everything about the cursed seals," the Hokage admitted. "This is partly because we are more scrupulous than Orochimaru. He is quite willing to throw away human lives by the score in the course of his research, which I am not. We can say that the seal seems to augment the chakra coils so they can handle increased flow, while simultaneously forcing the body to generate energy more efficiently. Unfortunately, it can also have psychological effects that we don't fully understand. It seems to exaggerate anger, but beyond that we can't totally predict what it will do. There is also physical stress. It causes pain at times, and can sometimes lead to long-term medical problems, though they are usually minor."

Anko took up the explanation. "The seal's activation can be triggered deliberately, or by a lack of chakra. Medical examination indicates that sufficient stress or adrenaline can also cause it to activate."

"For now," the Hokage decided, "Anko, I'd like to ask you to work with Sakura. You can help her recognize and resist the seal's effects, answer any questions, and also assist her in her preparations for the final stage of the chuunin exam."

"Hokage-sama, I'm not a teacher-" she began to object.

"Everyone teaches, Anko," the Hokage cut her off firmly. "I've let you get away with putting it off, but I think it's about time. After all, if Kakashi here can handle three students, surely you can look after one," he told her with a smile.

She stopped, exhaled quickly, and then nodded acquiescence. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"I think we're about finished here, then," the Hokage told them. "Naruto, I'll send that expert along to help you with your seal as soon as possible. In the meantime, all of you try to relax a bit. I want you to take at least one full day off before you start training to get ready for the chuunin exam finals, is that clear?"

His tone brooked no argument, and all three genin found themselves agreeing immediately.

…

The matchups for the finals leaked, as usual, and soon everyone was talking about the possibility of the last Uchiha facing the Hyuuga clan's young genius. Arguments were started, drinks were bought for anyone who sounded like they had inside knowledge on the subject, and a multitude of bets were placed.

The accepted wisdom was that Uzumaki Naruto and Kankurou had no chance against their respective opponents. In Naruto's case, some of the people spouting these opinions had at least encountered him, although they were largely biased because he hosted a demon. As for Kankurou, no one really knew anything about him, but most residents of the Leaf were quite proud of their ninjas, even in situations where that sentiment might not be justified. In the absence of any particular knowledge, they discounted his chances of defeating an Uchiha as minimal.

There was some interest in a few of the other matches as well; matching an Aburame against a Nara seemed intriguing to a few people, but not nearly as many. Most of the opinions were fueled more by knowledge of clans than individuals; the Leaf village was large enough that most people had no real acquaintance with any given genin.

While the attitude among the villagers was irritating, however, Naruto was pleased when he began to notice that many of the village's ninjas seemed to be looking at him a bit differently. Those who had seen Team 7 in various stages of the exam were largely impressed by all three. The fact that they had faced Orochimaru and lived to tell the tale was not spread around, but those few who new suddenly had more positive views of Uzumaki Naruto, with one or two isolated exceptions.

Sakura was irritated to find that a few people began asking her about Sasuke, as word that the last Uchiha might become a chuunin his rookie season was everywhere and a few people had found out who was on his team. She soon began to dodge the questions entirely, usually saying that she had been told she should not discuss the exams until they were over.

Sasuke himself was practiced at avoiding this sort of attention, although his skills got more of a workout than he was accustomed to during the month.

Naruto and Sasuke met with Kakashi the second morning after the preliminary matches ended, having followed the Hokage's instructions and relaxed for a day. Or rather, Naruto had done so. Sasuke had made an attempt, but it was halfhearted, and he soon found himself back home analyzing what he knew about his potential opponents in the coming tournament.

Once Kakashi arrived – a bit late, of course – they got down to business.

"Naruto, that specialist the Hokage mentioned is going to be in town in two days," Kakashi told him. "Once he's done looking at your seal, I think he'd be an excellent teacher to help you prepare for the chuunin exams, although you may have to convince him. I'll work with both of you until he arrives, but after that I'm going to spend more time teaching Sasuke, unless we can't find another teacher for you." When Naruto frowned in disappointment, Kakashi tried to explain. "I'm not saying I won't teach you anything else in the future, Naruto. But Sasuke and I have a fair amount in common, and I think you'll both benefit more from one-on-one instruction. Besides, I think you'll like Jiraiya once you get to know him."

For the next few days, Kakashi reviewed everything they knew and had them push their practice of nature manipulation. He told Sasuke that he would show him one or two lightning techniques in the coming weeks, and determined that Naruto was ready to try his first wind technique.

"I don't use wind techniques myself, since they don't fit my talents, but here's one I picked up from an enemy once," Kakashi told Naruto, demonstrating. He showed Naruto the seals necessary before having him give it a try.

"Don't be surprised if nothing happens the first time," Kakashi said. "New techniques can be tricky, and small mistakes can send them off target or prevent them from activating at all."

Naruto formed the seals and made his first attempt. "Shield of wind!"

A gust briefly sprang up in front of him, but died out almost immediately.

"Not bad for a first try," Kakashi complimented. "I've seen this technique used to deflect thrown weapons or send them off course so they miss, but don't depend on it too much. I beat the ninja who I learned this from. Still, it will help you get a feel for how to execute wind techniques and balance the nature manipulation with the rest."

While Kakashi kept those two occupied, Sakura was getting acquainted with Mitarashi Anko, who seemed much more stable now that she didn't have a crowd of genin to put on an act for.

"There are some differences between every cursed seal," she told Sakura at their first meeting. "They all do the same thing for the most part; amplifying chakra production and efficiency in a way that boosts your agility and strength. In some cases they may also toughen the skin or help the user regenerate from wounds. I have no idea whether Orochimaru invented the seals himself or discovered them somewhere, but he seems to like giving them to favored followers. It simultaneously increases their power in combat and makes them easier to control."

"Can he use it to control me?" Sakura asked.

"Not exactly," Anko answered. "He can activate mine at will, so you should assume he could do the same to you, even now that it's got another seal around it. The damn thing seems impossible to remove without killing the person it's on, unfortunately. He's always experimenting, so it's possible that your seal is different from mine in some ways." She looked Sakura in the eye. "Unfortunately, there may be only one way to find out."

Sakura nodded in return. "And if I'm facing him again, I'm in serious trouble either way."

"Damn right," Anko said with a small smile. "So, since I'm supposed to teach you for a month, tell me what kinds of skills you have…"

…

He arrived a day later than expected, but found Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi promptly once he reached the village.

"Kakashi, good to see you again," the white-haired man greeted the jounin. "Let's have a look at that seal."

"Jiraiya," Kakashi returned respectfully. "Naruto, this is that specialist the Hokage mentioned. Come on over."

Jiraiya had him mold some chakra and inspected the seal, briefly consulting a scroll he removed from his backpack and nodding to himself as he did so.

"I thought as much," he said aloud, turning toward Kakashi as he spoke. "Orochimaru's work, right?"

"We believe so," Kakashi answered. "Only Naruto and his two teammates were present at the time, so there's a small possibility it was an imposter, but from their reports we're as certain as we can be that it was the real Orochimaru."

Jiraiya nodded again at that. "Yeah, I'd say this supports that," he gestured to the seal on Naruto's belly. "The method is definitely his; rough and practical, without much style. Probably an adaptation of a sealing method he's used for something else before. The system doesn't match the one used to seal the nine-tails in the first-place, so its chakra can't mix evenly with Naruto's, which was the point, I imagine." He turned back to Naruto. "Have you noticed any difficulties using chakra since he placed the seal on you?"

"Yeah, definitely," Naruto answered. "It's way harder to mold chakra and use it efficiently, and I have less than normal."

"Well, this should be easy enough to fix," Jiraiya told him. "Just give me a moment, here." He focused on the seal for a moment, then struck with one hand, fingers extended.

Naruto was a bit irritated. "What the hell! Why did you hit me!"

Jiraiya looked at him evenly. "Kid, I just fixed your problem. Try molding chakra again."

Naruto was astonished to discover that it felt normal again as he tried to use his chakra. He quickly walked up a nearby tree to make sure, and then jumped back down with a grin.

"Hey, thanks!" he told the man. "I thought it would take way longer to fix."

"Ahh, well that is what happens when you are dealing with the legendary Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku!" Jiraiya said proudly, standing tall and throwing back his shoulders. "The most difficult obstacles are easily overcome by one with my experience, talent, knowledge, and style!"

"Wow! You're that great!" Naruto exclaimed. While he was playing things up a bit, he was genuinely impressed; for the Hokage to call this man in to look at Naruto's seal rather than doing it himself suggested he had to be gifted in that area at least. "Hey, I bet you could teach me all sorts of amazing things! Can you show me a technique or two?"

Jiraiya's eyebrows rose. "And why should I, the Legendary Sage, share my techniques with some kid?"

"Well, the chuunin exam finals are coming up," Naruto explained, "So I just thought that since you're here anyway I should try to take advantage of this amazing opportunity. It's not every day I meet a Legendary Sage, you know. I figure not asking you to teach me would be a huge mistake. And it's obvious you know a lot about seals – is there anything you can tell me about mine before you go?"

"Hmm…" Jiraiya said thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose since I'm here now, it would make sense. Someone should teach you a bit more about the nine-tails' chakra," he mused aloud.

"And who better than you!" Naruto said with enthusiasm. "You're clearly an expert on the subject."

Kakashi was trying not to laugh at all this, but he was a bit proud of Naruto despite himself. While Jiraiya might not be as easily manipulated as he seemed, no one was wholly immune to flattery. Sasuke was trying to remember when Naruto had gotten clever enough to play on someone's pride this way.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, couldn't help seeing a resemblance between the yellow-haired youth in front of him and his two parents. He'd stopped teaching after his greatest student died, but maybe it was time to try again. He owed it to the man to try to take care of his son, after all.

"Well, I was thinking of spending a bit of time in the village anyway," Jiraiya said after a few moments of deliberation. "I suppose I can spend some of it teaching you. But don't expect me to be patient!" he warned in a stern tone. "As a great sage I must use my time wisely, so you had better keep up! If you don't prove worthy of my lessons I'll take them elsewhere."

…

Over the next month, all of the chuunin candidates trained intensely, except for two. Gaara of the Sand had never trained in his life, at least not the way other people did. In any case, his teammates felt that his skills needed no sharpening; he was already dangerous enough. As a result, they encouraged him to rest, as far as anyone could encourage Gaara to do anything.

The other was Yakushi Kabuto, who considered training unimportant in the current circumstances. He went through the motions, but as usual his true energies were directed elsewhere.

"Orochimaru-sama," he greeted his master. "It seems that the village has stepped up security around the Sand candidates, but I believe they are more concerned with protecting them than watching them. The three genin representing the Hidden Village of Sound are being observed very closely, under the guise of medical supervision. They all bear significant injuries. It seems that guards around the other guests have been increased slightly as well, though I believe there is less of a particular purpose in mind in their case."

"It's good to know you are as reliable as ever, Kabuto," Orochimaru said with a smile. "And have you determined anything new about the boy?"

"It seems Hatake Kakashi is training him individually, while others train his teammates," Kabuto answered. "He is working hard, so he is under supervision almost constantly. When he is not training, he is generally at home, recovering, so no opportunities seem likely to present themselves."

"Kakashi, is it," Orochimaru's smile widened. "Amazing how folly is passed down through the generations." He began to frown after a moment, however. "And yet that same folly may be passed to Uchiha Sasuke. That would be unfortunate. As an avenger, he might serve my purpose. As a Leaf ninja, he would no doubt oppose me."

"That suggests he must be acquired soon, then," Kabuto replied. "But what if it is too late already for him to follow you willingly?"

Orochimaru looked at his spy sharply. "Then I will make other arrangements, of course." He paused momentarily. "Pursue your promotion, Kabuto. I have a backup plan that may be better served if you are a chuunin. Feel free to dispose of expendable assets toward that end. Oh, and tell Yoroi and Misumi that if they complain to me again, they will become expendable assets. Those fools do not understand that opportunities must sometimes be manufactured."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto replied. "And should I consider them expendable assets already?"

Orochimaru smiled again. "That's why you're my favorite, Kabuto. You grasp things so quickly."

…

Kankurou and Temari began to spend more and more time in the practice areas that had been set aside for them, even between sessions. Gaara's hunger for blood, ever unpredictable, was beginning to emerge again and they feared being the only ones around to catch his attention. The two regarded their younger brother as a force of nature; he could sometimes be put off, but they never fully comprehended the whims that moved him to kill one and leave another alive. He could not be fully understood, and so could not be predicted or controlled.

Sometimes he obeyed commands uncaringly, and other times he seemed to reject any authority that tried to assert itself over him. On one occasion he might slaughter someone for reasons that were wholly unclear, and the next day he might leave someone alive out of apparent boredom.

They were never certain how much of what he did was the monster within him and how much was just him. Some days there seemed to be a clear separation between Gaara and his passenger. On others, they feared that the creature might have consumed their brother entirely, or merged with him such that no division could be found.

Their worries increased a great deal when Baki, their jounin instructor and supervisor, told them of their orders. The promise of a great battle to come might help Gaara to be patient and quiet his bloodlust temporarily, but it might also cause that bloodlust to grow in anticipation.

At the same time, the pair now had to worry about acting normally to avoid giving away their village's plans. They tried to balance their need to be out of Gaara's sight with their need to keep an eye on him, and found it difficult at best.

One day, they came back from training and he was gone. When he returned he said nothing about where he had been, and his siblings were too afraid to ask. They were relieved that the next few days were not marked by any outcry over a dead body, and left it at that.

Gaara had experienced a fleeting sense of recognition throughout the exams, but been unable to pin it down. He couldn't figure out what it was, but something drew him to keep searching. At times he wandered around the village, looking for something to trigger his sense of recognition, but nothing seemed to be working. Eventually, he was on the verge of giving up, continuing only because he lacked other distractions.

…

"You already know where your unusually large chakra reserves come from; that the fox's energy mixes with your own, allowing you to use it easily," Jiraiya began his explanation. "But there's more to it than that. You should be able to draw out the fox's chakra in its pure form and use it of your own will. That may take time to learn, of course; it's tough to do. But your seal is designed so that it will be possible. Can you remember any time when you might have felt that chakra?"

Naruto thought for a moment, but it wasn't hard to come up with the answer. "When that Orochimaru guy attacked us," he answered. "When I realized he was hurting my teammates I kind of lost it for a minute. I felt angrier than ever before in my life, and there was just this…power, all of a sudden. Sasuke told me afterward that he could see red chakra around me, and that a couple other things happened. I don't remember it clearly, but he said my fingernails seemed more like claws, and my eyes might have changed."

Jiraiya managed to hide his concern as he heard those details. "Well, Orochimaru certainly has a gift for getting people angry, so I'm not surprised. It sounds like the chakra was coming out instinctively. You need to be careful about doing that; if you aren't in control when you call out that power, the fox may be able to influence you. It may come more easily when you're angry because that emotional state is closest to the fox; it isn't alive quite the same way we are, but it does feel. The fox doesn't like being imprisoned, though, so it's not a good idea to use your anger that way in the future. It might try to get you to break the seal or hurt people around you, regardless of whether they're your enemies."

"Can I break the seal?" Naruto asked with a frown. "Actually wait, don't tell me. As far as I know, I can't. It's probably good to keep it that way, at least for now. I can't think of anytime letting the thing out would be a good idea."

"Neither can I," Jiraiya smiled slightly, "although that doesn't mean we're right. There's a way to break through or unlock any seal, so it is possible. I could probably do it if I had a reason. As for you, you'd have to learn about seals first, or have someone show you how. For now, at least, I think you're right; you don't need to know more about how the seal works yet. Later, maybe. What I want to focus on at the moment is the fox's chakra. Can you remember what the chakra itself felt like, without the emotion attached to it?"

Naruto thought hard for an answer, struggling to remember. "I don't know. The feelings and the power seemed really connected," he admitted after a minute. "I can try, though."

"Then that's where we'll begin," Jiraiya told him. "Your chakra control isn't perfect, but it's pretty good. Given how much you have at your disposal, I think your training should focus on ways to maximize your advantages now. To start with, I'll want you to try to remember the feeling of that red chakra, focus on it, and try to draw on that power. You don't need a lot of it; just a little will be fine. The point here is for you to be able to bring it out at will, consistently."

"Okay," Naruto answered as they began to train.

…

"That's pretty good, Sasuke," Kakashi said critically, "but I know you can do better. Your fire techniques are much more focused. With them, the results are greater and more concentrated heat, and a more consistent flame. Lightning techniques are similar; if you don't hold them steady, the charge may come back at you, ground out or just die away. You need to be able to hold it steady long enough to strike the opponent."

Sasuke grunted in acknowledgment, and began again. The ground around him was marked where his attempts to gather lightning chakra had failed, and a few more prominent spots where he had met with success.

Getting the hang of a new form of nature manipulation was as tiring as he remembered from the first time. While his fire techniques seemed to come easily now, for the most part, he could tell it would still take a lot of work before he could employ lightning seamlessly in battle.

Whatever people might have said or thought about him, the last Uchiha was not afraid of a little hard work. He started again.

…

"That was pathetic," Anko told Sakura in a harsh tone. "It's one thing to prevent the seal from influencing you. If you hold back that much in the finals you might as well quit now. If you went into a real fight that way you'd end up dead, and probably your whole squad with you!"

Sakura gritted her teeth and refrained from responding. Anko had been pushing her emotional buttons during every training session, never letting up. She was kind enough before and after, but during a spar was another matter entirely. The woman berated her, acted disappointed or angry, belittled and degraded her with almost every word, trying to push her into a rage.

"You think real opponents won't see an emotional weakness?" Anko asked, circling her like a predator. "You think they won't smell fear, or hate? They'll see it a mile away, the way you're acting right now. I've seen children who concealed their emotions more effectively. If you can't even control your face, how are you going to keep that seal inactive?"

Sakura screamed in rage and punched the ground, nearly breaking her fist, then stood there breathing heavily for a few moments. She closed her eyes and took a single deep breath, then let it out.

Anko was standing in front of her, a few feet away, head cocked to one side. "It's a start," the jounin said, "although for the sake of the floors in your house, I hope we can improve on it. Let's go again."

…

"That's a bit better, Naruto, but you're still having problems with consistency," Jiraiya told his student. "Still, we've been going for a few days; I think we can afford to try to put this to use."

"Put it to use how?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to teach you a powerful technique," Jiraiya answered, grinning. "Maybe the most powerful technique I know, in some ways. I've used it for everything from fighting and reconnaissance to escapes. It's never let me down."

"What is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"The summoning technique," Jiraiya answered. "Watch." He bit his thumb and made several seals before pressing his hand to the ground.

Suddenly an enormous toad appeared under him, then used its tongue to unroll a large scroll in front of Naruto.

"That scroll is a contract for you to sign," Jiraiya told him. "Once you do, the toads of Myoboku Mountain will come when you call to help you. Some of them can fight, some of them are stealthy, and some help in other ways. If you're good enough, they may even teach you a few new things themselves one day."

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed. "This is like what Kakashi-sensei does! But he summons dogs."

"Ahh, you've seen summoning before," Jiraiya commented. "Different animals have different talents. Did Kakashi use them for tracking? That's usually where dogs excel."

"Ah, yeah, he did," Naruto answered. "And for scouting and patrolling, to warn people if someone was coming. He said it was because of their sense of smell being so good."

"That makes sense," Jiraiya answered. "Dogs can do more than that, too, of course, but I think it's what they're most frequently used for. I've found that toads can help with all kinds of things, but keep in mind nothing can be strong in every way. They're not the best at covering long distances quickly, for example. Part of it is a question of which one you summon, though. I've summoned toads bigger than buildings and smaller than you, depending on what I needed," he explained.

"Really bigger than buildings?" Naruto asked. "I've never heard of that."

"It's something most ninjas can't do on their own," Jiraiya replied. "Partly because not everyone gets a chance to sign a summoning contract like this one, and partly because a lot of them might not have enough chakra to make it practical. Summoning something big can take a lot of energy. Of course," Jiraiya smiled at him again, "that makes it perfect for you. You've got more chakra than you know what to do with sometimes, I'm betting. Anyway, go ahead and sign, then give it a try."

Naruto frowned. "If I can summon all different types of toads with this, how will I get the right one?"

"I'm glad you caught that," Jiraiya said. "That's the trickiest part of summoning, actually. Over time, you'll get to know more of the toads and what their skills are; you'll be able to focus on a specific one when you use the technique. Since you don't know any of them yet, it will be determined basically by how much chakra you put into it. The more chakra, the more powerful the ally you're likely to get. That part stays true later, but working on fine control will matter eventually as well. For now, give it a try and we'll see who pops up."

Naruto's first attempt at summoning was abysmal, calling out a tadpole that he hurriedly released back to its home. Naruto was glad no one else was there to see it; he was embarrassed enough for Jiraiya to witness the event.

His embarrassment waned over the next several days. After three, he managed to summon a toad that was fully-developed, with all its legs, but Jiraiya said that one was still too young to talk or be helpful. After five days, he hadn't made any more progress.

"I think it's time to try a different method," Jiraiya told his student on the sixth day. "You're having trouble drawing out the red chakra, and that's preventing you from summoning effectively. I'll need a couple days to prepare something that may help you; practice your other skills for a little while, then meet me back here in two days. Alright?"

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. "I know it hasn't been going great, but…"

"Relax, Naruto," Jiraiya said. "I'll be back in two days. I can't guarantee that we'll get results, but I think it's worth a shot. I'll explain then; for now, get a bit of rest and work on your other skills, like I said. It's best not to let them get rusty anyway."

…

"You're trying too hard, Sasuke," Kakashi told him after a few days. "As uninspired as it may sound, the fact is that nature manipulation has to happen naturally, to an extent. Throwing more effort and more of your will into every attempt won't help, at this point. You need to relax a bit."

Sasuke nodded his understanding, but found it difficult to do. After beginning a few attempts, he soon sighed and stopped for a minute, trying to clear his head.

"Something on your mind?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing particular, really," Sasuke answered. "I've just been thinking about the team a bit. When we started, Naruto and Sakura were pretty useless in a lot of ways, but they've been improving so quickly."

"And you're wondering if you've been improving more slowly," Kakashi finished the thought.

Sasuke looked at him sharply for a moment, before nodding again.

"You got used to being the best in the academy and stayed there, Sasuke, but with all of you in the real world I think there may be a few differences you haven't noticed."

"Such as?"

"The truth is, your basics are still better than both of them in a number of ways," Kakashi told him. "Your taijutsu is faster and more precise, and the same goes for your throws and seal-making speed. They've both improved in those areas, but you have too. They're closer to your skill level than when you were all assigned to me, but I don't think you've realized that your skill level has risen. Their progress has been faster largely because they had more improving to do, and getting better at the basics gets more difficult the higher your skills climb."

Sasuke thought back, and couldn't disagree with Kakashi. Maybe he had been underestimating his own growth.

"The other flaw in your analysis, I think, is that you underestimate their starting points," Kakashi went on. "Naruto had a lot of trouble in the academy, but there were two main reasons for that, and you should be able to guess at least one of them with no trouble."

"The nine-tails, obviously," Sasuke responded.

"Right," Kakashi answered. "The demon may give him additional chakra, but too much can be hard to manage, especially when you're younger. I'd say that's part of the reason he used to have trouble with basic ninjutsu. The other part is also related to the nine-tails, though less directly." Kakashi paused. "Do you remember teachers acting differently towards Naruto?"

Sasuke was a bit surprised at that. He had started at the academy so young that the way teachers acted was not really questioned, and that sort of attitude tends to be habit-forming. He frowned and thought for a moment.

"I suppose they seemed less patient with him, at times," Sasuke commented. "In retrospect, it also seems like a lot of the failures they scolded him for were goofing off, not so much technical errors."

"I don't think I can fully explain this to you or your teammates, because you never saw the nine-tails," Kakashi said quietly. "It was the most terrifying experience of my entire life. More than a hundred ninjas died just trying to slow it down. They wouldn't let the younger ninjas even come near it, because they were afraid it would wipe us out, inexperienced as we were by comparison, but frankly I'm not sure experience made a difference. The thing was like some sort of natural disaster with a malevolent will."

Sasuke listened with rapt attention.

"Most ninjas don't know much about seals, and civilians understand even less," Kakashi told him. "To them, a lot of what we do can be frightening, even if we're their defenders. With the Fourth dead, the entire village was in mourning already, and he wasn't around to explain what had happened that night. As a result, a lot of people identified Naruto as the fox, instead of its prison and jailer. There were even a few attempts to kill him, though he was so young at the time I doubt he remembers; the Third had to make a few examples, but he put a stop to that quickly."

That caught Sasuke by surprise; he'd certainly had no idea.

"The point is," Kakashi said, "that a lot of people focused their hatred on Naruto, regardless of how irrational it was to do so, and took their grief and loss out on him. He's tough enough that he can shrug it off most of the time, but some people are more subtle than others. Some of the academy teachers may have wanted to sabotage his abilities to discourage him, and others were just less concerned with teaching him properly. How much would you say he improved once Umino Iruka took over your class' instruction?"

Sasuke thought it over for a minute, then said, "A great deal. His taijutsu form was much better, and perhaps a few other improvements were there as well."

"Iruka's a good teacher, and one who takes his job seriously," Kakashi commented. "He couldn't make all of his colleagues shape up, but he did what he could to help Naruto make up for the poor instruction he'd received before. I'll flatter myself and say that I'm a decent teacher too, in which case all Naruto needed to progress was some actual instruction."

"As for Sakura," Kakashi continued after a moment, "I can understand the reasons why you underestimated her, but don't make that mistake. She was always the best of you three in terms of academics and deep analysis, and those things become more important out here than they seem in the academy, in some ways. Her taijutsu may be slower than yours, but the form is just as good now, and she was always better at using chakra precisely and efficiently. I think the real difference for her is that she started taking being a ninja more seriously, which is hardly uncommon for new genin. That's half the reason I pushed you all so hard in your early training. A lot of people slack off after graduation, thinking that they've finished and don't need any more preparation. Those people often have to learn their lesson the hard way, and sometimes that includes dying."

"That all makes sense, I suppose," Sasuke responded. "It's a bit irritating to realize how biased I was before, though."

"Consider yourself lucky," Kakashi said. "Like I mentioned, that sort of realization can be fatal all too often."

…

"You're doing much better," Anko told Sakura. "I've barely been able to get your temper going at all, and I'm good at getting under peoples' skin. It's almost my secret technique."

"It feels strange to have to fight myself this way, though." Sakura said. "Even knowing the seal is artificially amplifying some feelings or reacting to them, the experience in the moment is so potent that it's difficult to stay rational. How have you managed it for years?"

"Practice, the same way you are," Anko answered. "There is no trick to it, Sakura. Age, maturity and experience all help, but the truth is that those are just fancy ways of saying practice, in this case. It may not be easy to improve your self-control this way, but it's not complicated either, if that makes sense. The other part of the answer is that I didn't do it for years; not at first, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowing.

"I was a student of Orochimaru, back before he was a missing-nin," Anko told her after a brief pause. "I don't know if you know any of the story already, but Orochimaru was always a genius. He got creepy over the years, but some ninjas have personality problems or bad attitudes, and it doesn't mean we get rid of them. Orochimaru had power, and as long as he was loyal people were willing to overlook the fact that he was a bastard. They just didn't socialize with him." She smirked a bit at that. "Everyone was happy that way, for a while."

"Eventually, though, it came out that he was basically abducting people to use in experiments. He tried to invent new techniques, study bloodline limits, and do other research. His goals were twisted but fascinating, and some of his results were incredible, but his methods were completely inhuman. When I got my seal, it was around the time he got found out. I blacked out from the pain and woke up a few days later in the hospital. It took me a long time to get over what had happened; finding out that my teacher was a monster, that he had put the seal on me…it was a lot to take in at once." Anko stopped musing and looked Sakura in the eye. "I know this is a tangent. I guess I'm just trying to say it could be worse; you still have your teammates, and they seem like the type to watch your back. As far as controlling the seal, well…you'll never have it perfectly under control. You can't, since it belongs to the snake. But it won't take over your whole life or anything like that."

"And as for me," she finished, "I wouldn't have made it if not for Hokage-sama. I almost lost my mind because of this damn thing," she touched the seal on her neck, "but he helped me come back from it." The respect and admiration in her voice were obvious to Sakura, despite the fact that Anko had seemed like someone who hid most of her thoughts.

"He is pretty amazing," Sakura agreed. "I guess I never realized it before, but when I had to tell you all about what happened, it was a lot easier than I expected."

Anko nodded with a small smile, recognizing a familiar feeling. "Exactly. He makes problems feel smaller, and makes us feel stronger. That's part of what makes him so good at his job."

…

As promised, Jiraiya returned two days later.

"Well, I've done a bit of research and come to some new conclusions," he told Naruto once they were sitting in private. "I think the seal was designed to control the fox's chakra more tightly when you were younger, and slowly surrender more of that control to your initiative over time. That's part of why you never felt the fox or the red chakra in the academy. Now that you're older, your body is better able to handle the power. You're still growing, so don't be surprised if it becomes a bit easier over the next few years. For now, though, I've brought this."

He removed a small vial from his pack. It had symbols carved all over it, though Naruto wasn't sure what they meant.

"What is it?" Naruto asked a bit nervously.

"A little something the toads helped me cook up," Jiraiya replied. "I'm a sealing expert, but your seal is one of the most complicated ones around, so I wanted to check a few things. The toad's mountain is a pretty safe place for me to do research, and I store some notes there for security reasons as well. One of the perks of being a sage," he said with a grin, "is having dependable allies who don't mind if you need them to keep an eye on something important. This little concoction should give you a chance to look at the seal in a new way. I can't tell you exactly what the effects will be like, but it won't hurt you. I can't vouch for the taste, though," Jiraiya's grin widened. "I've never been much of a cook, and neither are the toads."

Despite his slight misgivings, Naruto drank the stuff, swallowing it as fast as possible.

The aftertaste was among the least pleasant sensations he could remember in his entire life. It was like someone had somehow found the opposite of delicious ramen and then cooked it down into an extremely concentrated mouthful of pure disgust. He later looked back and considered it fortunate that it knocked him unconscious quickly.

Uzumaki Naruto came to his senses and stood up in a strange, dark chamber. The lighting made it seem like he might be underground, but somehow that idea felt wrong. In fact, trying to assign any location to his surroundings felt wrong. He turned in a circle, taking in the details. It was easy to do; there wasn't much to look at. In one direction a high hallway quickly ended in darkness; it could have gone on for any distance. In the other direction was a huge gate, barred but strong. Where the two doors met there was a chain holding them shut. It seemed to be made in the shape of four linked hands, with writing on them that he couldn't make out. The chain bore a lock. Naruto stepped forward, but stopped when he felt a presence on the other side of the gate.

Two eyes opened and rose slightly, as if their owner was just noticing his presence and trying to decide what to do about it.

"So, you're here at last, boy," a strange voice said from the darkness. The eyes seemed to grow larger and brighter, and Naruto thought each one was as big as he was. "Why have you come?"

…

END CHAPTER

Leaf Intelligence Division Update: Troop movements in Wind Country

It seems that whatever activities were taking place in the Northwest portion of the Wind Country have concluded. Assets Z and H have confirmed significant troop movements as several units are cycled back out of that region, presumably to return to their normal postings. They have not reported anything about the Kazekage's associate, and it remains unclear whether he was involved in operations in that region.

These movements coincide with adjustments expected to occur as the Kazekage himself comes to Leaf Village for the chuunin exam finals. Such disruptions could be used to mask troop movements, but there is no particular reason to suspect that is occurring at this time.

The Kazekage's advance guards have arrived and are looking over his accommodations to ensure the security arrangements meet with their approval and secure the privacy of his quarters in advance of his arrival. They have followed protocol precisely. Sand ninjas who failed the chuunin exams are remaining to watch the finals and will travel back in a group with the Kazekage for improved security and convenience, and so that they may watch the finals themselves, as usual.