AN: Here's chapter ten. A little faster than usual, huh?

otakujijo: well, it was really supposed to be clear there. The answer to your question is in this chapter though.

FlameDragon14: Chomei didn't refer to the Kyuubi by its name because it understood Kurama's feelings. Their names are important, they won't just tell it to anyone and Kurama doesn't know Naruto well enough yet to let him know. It wasn't explicitly stated that that's why Chomei did not refer to the Kyuubi as Kurama, but that is the reason and it will become a subject of discussion later on. Just not now. Abou the other weaknesses, they certainly are there, but I don't count the beacon issue too much thanks to the Kunai as for the disorientation, I see that as something Minato would train Naruto in immediately. Not saying Naruto is pro at it or anything, but he's prepared for it with every jump he makes. I kind of count it as part of his concentration. And yes, there will be more interaction between the two.

watson85: Naruto and Minato will get a relationship with he Kyuubi earlier than in Canon. As for a trip to Uzu? We will see.

Ramrikai: They were pulled from the forest. What happens to them is revealed here. And thank you for the compliment on my interpretation of Fu.

Narutofangirl45: sorry about that. Wasn't trying to be a tease. I hadn't actually had any intention of including Kushina in a fight just yet. Her time is coming as is Minato's, but I hadn't planned for her to show off "on screen" yet.

Hektols: thankfully, they did get the scrolls. :)

EdwinMoq:Yeah, only reason Naruto can use the seal is thanks to MugenToshokan. Since I gave him that though, I wanted to make sure the Hiraishin had some other drawbacks. As for a jealous Hinata? It's almost a guarantee. I need her to have some sort of drive in getting Naruto, after all.

Selet: you can see here what Minato decided to do about Gaara. As for the other political issues you brought up, they will be brought up as the chapters continue. One or two should actually be answered Coke chapter 12.

Nightshadegirl: Idk, honestly. I have the match-ups down, but their level of epicness is a toss up. I'm not quite sure how I want that to go. I may save the truly epic ones for the actual third exam. We shall see.

As usual, a thanks to zebzy1 for their work as my beta.

Now, shall we begin?

The Preliminaries Begin

Naruto opened his eyes again, feeling much better than he had the last time he had them open. Sitting up, he looked around the room much like the last time, except this time he was not the only one inside. Sitting a couple of feet away from his bed was Kakashi, his face slightly obscured behind his usual orange book of smut.

"I see you've finally decided to open your eyes," Kakashi drawled as he closes his book and stands, depositing it back into his pouch.

"Mm…" Naruto replied as he stretches a bit.

"Good. Let's go then, your father wants to see us. Sasuke, Sakura, and a few others are waiting outside the office."

Nodding, Naruto got to his feet as Kakashi made his way over to him.

"How long have I been asleep? Since Karin was here I mean," Naruto asked, looking himself over. He quickly realized that he was not wearing his pullover. He saw it folded up and siting on the nearby dresser. Naruto contemplated grabbing it, but decided against it. He didn't need it right now after all.

"Oh, only about three hours."

"Oh, Okay." Naruto breathed, relieved he hadn't been sleep for long. Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder before he spoke again.

"Give or take a day."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Wait-"

They vanished in a swirl of leaves, appearing in front of the doors to the Hokage's office within the Tower at the center of the Forest of Death.

"-What?!" Naruto's loud exclamation rang through the hall and Kakashi merely offered an eye smile.

"About time you woke up, Dobe." Turning around, the young Uzumaki saw quite the assortment of people. There were his teammates, Karin, Fu and two other Taki-nin he assumed were her teammates, and rounding up the group were Hinata, Shino, and Kurenai.

"Why are there so many people…?" Naruto wondered, confused.

Kakashi shrugged as he opened the door.

"Well, you know, circumstances," Kakashi replied, "I've brought them, Hokage-sama."

Naruto knew Kakashi wasn't giving him the whole story and it annoyed him greatly.

Now that the door was open, Kakashi stood aside and Naruto immediately walked in, his mood already beginning to improve at the sight of his parents on the other side. The many people in the hall trickled in as well – most of them having their eyes widen in surprise at the sight of the Yondaime who was supposed to be dead. The only exceptions to this rule were Kurenai, Kakashi, and Karin. Kurenai and Kakashi had known about the Yondaime Hokage for a while now and Karin had been formally introduced to Kushina and Minato by Kakashi after he'd received a small briefing about Team Seven's experiences in the Forest from Sakura and Sasuke.

Once everyone was in the room, Kakashi closed the door and Kushina put up a privacy seal. Minato glanced around the room momentarily before leaning forward, placing his elbows on his desk and clasping his fingers together, creating a bridge just in front of his face.

"Now that we're all here we can get started," Minato smirked.

"W-wait a minute…" stammered Sakura, "Y-you're the Yondaime Hokage! How is this… you… aren't you supposed to be dead…?"she asked, covering her mouth with her hands soon after. Briefly, Sakura wondered if asking someone if they're supposed to be dead was rude.

"Yeah, well… I suppose I am supposed to be, aren't I? Since you're on my son's team, I suppose I can tell you why I'm alive, but wait a bit okay?"

Sakura's jaw hung as the remaining Genin looked to Naruto in disbelief – except for Sasuke. The young Uchiha cast his teammate a brief glance, his eyes narrowed, before looking away. He'd wait to talk to Naruto about this after things had calmed down. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki himself scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Suddenly having almost all the eyes in the room on him was certainly a bit embarrassing. Kurenai frowned in the Hokage's direction, but kept her mouth closed. She wouldn't make a scene right now.

"On to more pressing matters," Minato continued, "your three Genin teams were involved in quite the – confrontation – for lack of a better word. What your three teams experienced within the forest is very important to the security of Konoha, so I'd like to hear what happened. The whole story." For a moment, no one said anything. The Genin wondered who should go first until Kurenai volunteered her team to start. She wanted to finish this quickly so she could go look in on Kiba again. The boy's injuries really worried her.

Team 8 started the briefing with their spying on Gaara. Thy told the Yondaime how the Suna Genin had killed the team from Ame and then noticed them. After relating how Gaara had crippled Kiba before their team was save by Fu, they let the girl take over.

"Well, Sandy got really upset when I stopped him," Fu began, "and well… He basically ended up going all Ichibi on me."

Minato held his hand up here, motioning for the girl to stop. Glancing in Kurenai's direction was the only thing he needed to do to let the Genjutsu mistress know what he wanted. Catching his drift, Kurenai told her students that they should wait outside until the Hokage was done speaking with the others. Shine and Hinata hesitated for a moment, clearly curious about what was to be said, but conceded to their Sensei's wishes and left with her.

"You may continue," Minato said. Fu nodded.

"Like I was saying, he got really hostile and almost killed me until I pulled out my Biju cloak. Ah, I'm the Jinchuriki of the Nanabi by the way. The two of us fought until he got me with this really powerful Jutsu that sent me crashing through the forest. It was around that time I felt the Kyuubi's chakra so I headed over there."

Minato thanked the girl for her explanation before looking to his son and his team. Sasuke started the briefing, telling Minato about their run in with the disguised Orochimaru and the ensuing fight. He continued on, his teammates and Karin adding to the story with their own interpretations of the events until he got to the part where Naruto let loose the pillar of malevolent chakra.

Minato looked to Naruto now.

"Well, son? I'm fairly certain only you and Fu can go into any real detail about what happened next. Elaborate please."

Naruto's eyebrows rose, threatening to vanish into his hairline. Nervously, the young Namikaze glanced around the room at the people present. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. This was his biggest secret and his father just wanted him to spill the beans? In front of his team? And foreign Shinobi? Naruto had never questioned his father before, but he figured there was a first time for everything.

"A-are you sure, dad? I mean… I can always tell you this in a more private setting. This is pretty – you know."

"I understand your reservations, Naruto… But these are your teammates," Minato intoned, " This is something they should know. You are going to be trusting them with your life when you go on missions and vice versa; they should have a full understanding of the consequences. And I'm sure Fu has already told her team, if for no other reason than to caution them against doing battle with you – whether that's because she finds you out of their league or views you as a comrade of sorts."

"I'd say it leans more towards the latter, Hokage-sama," Fu interjects. Naruto and Minato look to her as she merely eyes the two of them curiously. The Yondaime had little doubt she could tell that he was also the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki.

"But what if they hate me…?" Naruto ventures, prompting his two teammates to look at him wide eyed – well, in Sasuke's case he only lifted a brow curiously. What could Naruto possibly be hiding that would make him think they would hate him? They couldn't understand what secret could be that big.

"Then better they are informed with our knowledge. If they find out some other way and decide to be hostile, we wouldn't know. At least this way, if they don't have the kind of character that we hope for, you can be removed from their team and we can keep an eye on them. I can take over as your Jounin Sensei if it really comes down to it as well."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Sakura's expression became more perplexed by the second. Hurt Naruto? Sure, the Dobe was annoying but he wasn't that bad. Sasuke couldn't see himself attempting to seriously harm the guy unless he somehow managed to be involved with the Uchiha massacre – which was impossible. Now Sasuke was really suspicious.

What could Naruto be hiding?

Sakura was thinking along the same lines, though she could slightly understand why Naruto was afraid to tell them. She would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't been afraid of him when he was fighting Orochimaru and Gaara. His chakra had felt so dark and angry. It was hateful. Sakura found Naruto to be really annoying – or he used to be, anyway. Despite that though, even if she found him to be a bit annoying and that form of his to be frightening, she didn't see herself hating him. She'd never admit it to Naruto's face, but he'd started to grow on her.

As for Karin, she knew exactly what Naruto's secret was. Kushina and Minato had told her when she met them. They'd fully intended remove her from his life before he could get to know her too well just in case she wasn't understanding as far as his burden was concerned. Kushina was happy she had more family than just Naruto and Minato, but she would pick her son over Karin if Karin ever viewed Naruto in a way such as the villagers do. The fact that she was still standing in his presence was proof that she had an open mind and an understanding heart.

Naruto frowned at his father's response but nodded nonetheless. He could understand where his father was coming from, he supposed. More than just being a Hokage worried about the village weapon, he was a parent who wanted the best for his son. If his teammates couldn't look past the fox then they had no business associating with his son in the first place. Looking to his friends one last time, Naruto steeled his resolve and stepped forward.

"Okay…"

And then he told them. He informed him of the circumstances of his birth, how his father hadn't truly killed the Kyuubi and instead sealed it within him. He told them of why the villagers hated him, informed them of what had occurred with him during his fight with Orochimaru, and then proceeded to tell his father of what he'd experienced with Fu before the two of them did battle with Gaara and the Snake Sannin.

Throughout the explanation, Naruto hadn't made eye contact with his team or Karin. He didn't want to think of how he'd feel if any of them looked at him with those eyes. The eyes he receives whenever he walks through the village; the eyes he received all throughout his academy years whether it be from teacher or student – students who had their opinions of him shaped by their prejudice parents.

The eyes full of hate.

Those eyes – those damned eyes. They'd driven him into a corner where negative attention was the only thing he was allotted. Those eyes had forced a mask onto Naruto's face. If he didn't grin and bear with everything that was thrown at him, if he didn't get back up, spewing bravado from his lips every time he was knocked down, if he didn't learn to function without any true friends then Naruto knew – he knew that he would be nothing like he was today.

Naruto knew he'd be a much darker person if he'd decided to stay in the village without managing to stay strong and bare the hate of those around him. He knew he'd probably end up living up to all the things the villagers said about him. He'd become the demon they feared if he had ever allowed them to break him and still remain in the village. And if he'd left? Naruto didn't doubt revenge would be on his agenda. Naruto was fully aware he carried darkness in his heart. He was also fully aware of what kind of life he would have now had he given in. Naruto didn't want that, but he was afraid.

He was afraid of his teammates' and Karin's reactions. Naruto was afraid that they would reject him like the villagers and lead him back down the dark path he knew he could have ended up walking. And he didn't want that. Not when he was finally part of a family. Not when he'd finally become happy.

He didn't want that at all.

At Naruto's back there was silence. None of his comrades said anything. For a spine chilling moment, Naruto imagined them staring at him with those cold, cold eyes.

"I'm kind of surprised the Dobe could hold back the Kyuubi. He doesn't seem to be have the mental capabilities to pull such a thing off," said Sasuke. Naruto could hear the smirk in his rival's voice. In a response that could be likened to reflex, Naruto whipped his head back.

"Oi!" yelled Naruto, offended by Sasuke's crack at his intelligence. Sasuke just smirked back and after a moment, it hit the blonde. He was looking at his rival – and Sasuke was smirking back.

"You – you don't care?" asked Naruto, surprised. Sasuke shrugged.

"You're still you," said Sasuke simply. Naruto didn't question it – he could understand what Sasuke meant, oddly enough.

"Sakura? Karin?" Naruto ventured, hoping Sasuke wouldn't be his only remaining friend.

"It's a little frightening," Sakura admitted, causing Naruto to wilt slightly, "but Sasuke is right… you've been burdened with the Kyuubi all your life, us knowing doesn't change that. Despite that burden you were never different than any of the rest of us. You've never tried to hurt any of us either and you've already proved you'd lay your life down for us. I… don't really see any reason to look at you any differently now, I guess."

"As for me," said Karin, "Aunt Kushina already told me.I don't care. I've no reason to be afraid of my family."

Naruto was left speechless. He'd been so afraid and now his worries had been laid to rest. He hadn't lost his teammates. The Kyuubi hadn't totally ruined his life yet.

"Thanks. You – you don't know how much this means to me," said Naruto forcing back tears that were threatening to flow. Sasuke looked at his rival's expression and couldn't help but wonder at it. He looked so relieved to know they accepted him.

Sasuke wanted power. Right now he wanted that more than anything – he needed it. If he wanted to kill Itachi he needed far more power than he did now, but seeing Naruto, who had so much power at his disposal act like this? Sasuke had to wonder…

Is the price for power always worth it? Before today Sasuke would have said yes. Now? He wasn't so sure.

Minato and Kushina smiled at their son and his team, happy that he had friends he could trust. Kakashi was also smiling, though it wasn't a full blown eye-smile so it was hidden by his mask. His team certainly had a rough beginning, but it seemed that they were finally starting to shape up. Fu looked on with a smile as well, happy that one of her fellow Jinchuriki had people he could rely on. Good friends were hard to find for people like them.

"Thank you for your assistance with this briefing," said Minato, drawing everyone's attention. He was looking in the direction of Fu and her team.

"Especially you, Fu. You've shed some light on a few interesting things… I do hope we'll be able to talk to you again at a later date?" Fu smiled and nodded.

"Of course. I'm sure Chomei wants to chat more with the Kyuubi anyway," replied Fu before Minato thanked her once more and let the team from Taki know they could leave. Once Fu's team took their leave, Minato cleared his throat and spoke up once more.

"I believe you wanted to know why I was still alive, Sakura?"

"Ah… y-yes. I mean, if you don't mind, Hokage-sama…" Sakura replied, still a bit perturbed that she was talking to a supposed dead man who just so happened to be a very famous Hokage and the father of one of her teammates who'd she not been too nice to in the not so distant past. Minato simply waved it off, gesturing that he did not, in fact, mind.

"Well, my wife and I," said Minato, gesturing to Kushina at his side, "survived the sealing of the Kyuubi – but only just." Sasuke and Sakura looked to the beautiful woman at Minato's side. Sasuke raised a brow and Sakura almost gaped before she felt sick. This was Naruto's mother. This was Naruto's mother who was staring at her. She was staring at Sakura in a way that unnerved the pinkette greatly. Sakura knew that Naruto's mom knew about her – and by extension, that meant the woman knew that she'd hit Naruto on multiple occasions.

Sakura knew she was screwed. The slow, mischievous, smile that spread across Kushina's lips did nothing to facilitate any thoughts for otherwise either.

"Ah, Minato. Do you mind if I talk to Sakura in private? I'll tell her everything while we have some girl talk," said Kushina, speaking up for the first time since the briefing had begun. Minato shot her a look, followed by Kakashi, then Naruto, and finally Karin. They all held some degree of similarity to them – which did not go unnoticed by Sakura. This only served to unsettle the girl more.

"… Go ahead Kushina," said Minato after a moment. Sakura began to grow pale. Kushina walked towards the girl, her unsettling smile still plastered on her face. Grasping Sakura's shoulder, she all but dragged the pinkette out of the room. For a beat, there was silence. Then Karin spoke up.

"I'll go with them… for the girl talk… and all…" Karin had already heard about what Kushina's intentions with Sakura were and while she didn't condone the pinkette's actions where Naruto was concerned, she didn't really want anything bad to happen to the girl. Karin had only known Kushina for around a day, but she had already discovered that the woman could be quite – well – overbearing. The bespectacled Uzumaki wasted no time in slipping out of the door, leaving only the men remaining in the office.

"Ah… well… as I was saying," continued Minato. Sasuke was concerned for Sakura, to a degree. Considering the reactions of every other person in the room aside from him, he had to wonder what Naruto's mom was going to do to her, after all. At the same time though, considering the reactions of every other person in the room aside from him, Sasuke wasn't sure he really wanted to know. Deciding to trust his gut, he didn't ask. With that momentary internal conflict out of the way, the young Uchiha listened to the Yondaime's story. Once it was over, Sasuke found himself with a few questions.

"How did the village not know you were alive until now? Shouldn't the medic-nin have known the corpses Danzo placed were fakes?"

"No one has seen or heard from the medics who looked over our 'bodies' back then since Kushina and I came back," Minato responded, "At this point, it's safe to assume they'd been part of Danzo's forces from the beginning. Based on what we know about the old war-hawk, he probably saw an opportunity to capture Kushina and I the moment that masked man had been dispatched; he knew I'd have to reseal the Kyuubi– and that whatever I chose to do would take a lot out of me and Kushina was already weakened. Danzo had to have been watching well before the masked man attacked considering how quickly he found us."

"Which means you and Kushina were targets from the beginning," said Kakashi, easily seeing the puzzle pieces fit.

"Yes… us or Naruto. I don't think Danzo would be so foolish as to attempt kidnapping us when I was still at full strength, which means his target was most likely Naruto. Either he wanted a subordinate with the Uzumaki family's Kekkei Genkai along with possibly gaining a very powerful seal master, or he wanted to use Naruto as some sort of leverage against me."

Kakashi frowned at Minato's response. He hadn't yet considered that, but it certainly made sense. Kakashi assumed it would be much easier (still extremely difficult, considering who Danzo would be crossing) to kidnap Naruto than it would be to kidnap Minato and Kushina.

"And this masked man… you're sure it was an Uchiha?" asked Sasuke. Minato simply nodded.

"Yes. I'm positive. The Uchiha are the only clan who could hope to put a Biju under their control without the use of a Jinchuriki in the first place."

"Do you think the one who did it is dead then?" asked Sasuke, clenching his fists as he considered what had happened to every Uchiha within the village, "after what Itachi did…"

"No," said Minato, shaking his head with a grave expression, "Every Uchiha within the village was killed. That much is certain – but I know the masked man is still alive. Hiraishin seals last forever and the one I placed on him was something I've checked periodically since I've managed to regain my strength. That particular seal – it's been moving. To be honest, the odds that he was even in the village before or after the Kyuubi attack is unlikely. An Uchiha of his ability going unnoticed within the walls of the village? It's preposterous."

Sasuke scowled at the Yondaime's response. There was another Uchiha out there. He had another living relative – but it seemed he would have to kill this one as well. Whoever this masked Uchiha is, their actions were a blight on the Uchiha clan's name in Sasuke's eyes. He could not let that pass.

"I have one last question," said Sasuke, "Danzo had been the Uchiha clan's representative on the council… now that he is gone, who will be the clan's representative?"

"You," said Minato simply, "if you pass the Chunin exams, that is. If not, I can probably get Kushina to do it." Sasuke's brows dipped in confusion as he eyed Minato.

"What does she have to do with my clan?"

"Oh? You don't know then? I see… Well, Kushina and your mother were great friends… great enough friends that Kushina became your godmother."

The young Uchiha was rendered speechless.

Orochimaru watched Kabuto and his team take out another team within the forest from behind a tree. Once Kabuto retrieved the fallen team's scroll, he turned to Orochimaru's hiding place while adjusting his glasses.

"Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto's teammates straightened up upon hearing their leader utter their master's name. Stepping from behind the tree, Orochimaru greeted his subordinates with one of his usual unnerving smiles.

"I take it the fact that you're here means it is time to have Dosu's team attack Sasuke to test his curse mark?" inquired Kabuto.

"No," came Orochimaru's calm reply, "I did not give him the seal. I was – interrupted by Konoha Anbu led by a rather problematic Kunoichi… It is of no consequence for now though. I will succeed in giving my gift to Sasuke-kun… and young Naruto-kun as well, kukuku."

Kabuto raised a brow at the addition of Naruto as one of Orochimaru's targets, but did not question it. How the boy had managed to garner his Master's attention was none of Kabuto's business.

"What will you have us do, Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto, earning a grin from his master.

"I have some suspicions about Konoha's current state of power after my attempt on Sasuke-kun. You've informed me that Danzo has fled Konoha for some reason and I want you to find out why after the preliminaries for the third exam ends. His fleeing may confirm my suspicions – and if it does, request his assistance with our plans for the invasion."

Kabuto raised a brow, wondering why Danzo would help Orochimaru invade Konoha, but decided not to ask once more. Giving a bow, he and his team made their way to the tower. Orochimaru watched them go, his smile leaving his face. If his suspicions were correct then Danzo's assistance could make a world of difference. It would seem unlikely that Danzo would work with him in the Konoha invasion, but considering what his suspicions were, it may just happen.

After all, if Orochimaru was right about who was still alive within the walls of Konoha, Danzo may very well need to destroy his former home before he has any chance of ruling it.

Following the briefing about Orochimaru, Team Seven's days became that of peaceful recuperation in preparation for the third exam. Naruto and his team were initially surprised to discover they were being allowed to compete considering the fact that they hadn't made it to the tower under their own power, but Minato had said it would be okay considering whom they'd had to fight. Ororchimaru was certainly no Genin. It would be cruel to disqualify them after they survived such an encounter.

Those words from Minato had opened up other questions such as what would happen to Gaara. The Yondaime made it known that he would be permitted to continue participating in the exams. It would be an insult to Suna if they disqualified him on the grounds of his Jinchuriki status while Fu and Naruto were allowed to remain. Minato had doubted that their identities hadn't made it back to Suna's Jounin instructor by now. He wasn't happy to know Suna had sent such an unstable Jinchuriki to these exams, but politics were politics. Disqualify Gaara because of his status would be enough to injure Konoha's relationship with Suna.

And that could lead to a war.

Orochimaru's veiled threat of Konoha being destroyed soon had come into consideration as well, but Minato waved off Kakashi's worries. He wasn't taking Orochimaru lightly, but he had a plan – an opportunity that Naruto had managed to acquire for them during his fight with Orochimaru. Minato needed time before he could execute his plan though; right now they weren't in a position to go through with it.

Team Seven now had three days remaining before the second exam came to a close and Naruto was wondering how much of that time it would take before whatever his mother had done to Sakura would pass. Every time she was around him she seemed uncomfortable, though noticeably nicer. Naruto had tried asking his mother what happened, but all he ever received in reply was a saccharine smile that made him think asking her was a bad idea. He shifted his inquiries to Karin after the third attempt with his mother. The only thing Karin told him was that Kushina had put her under some Genjutsu that Sakura could not seem to break and that after it was over she was a frightened mess, promising to never hit Naruto again.

Naruto shivered; his mother was a scary, scary lady.

Another development within Naruto's team was the continued absence of Sasuke, though Naruto had a guess at what the Uchiha was doing. After finding out Naruto's mom was his godmother (really, what are the odds?) Sasuke had been spending a lot of his time with her, determined to get to know the woman whom Mikoto had considered to be such a good friend. Every once in a while Naruto would hang out with his mom and Sasuke when he wasn't spending time with Karin, Fu, or Hinata.

By the time only one day remained until the second exam's end, Naruto was rather good friends with Fu. The two seemed to just click, understanding each other fairly well. The fact that they shared similar history as Jinchuriki wasn't the only reason either. They were rather alike in personality as well. Both of them were stubborn and brash. They were easily excitable and quick to piss off, yet held a fierce determination to protect what was precious to them. Naruto found Fu to be a kindhearted girl and her rambling was even endearing.

Naruto thought Fu's team was pretty cool too, though her male teammate – who's name he had yet to remember – was of the jumpy sort. The guy was easily frightened, but that only served to make Naruto and Fu intent on pranking him as many times as possible before the second exam ended. Fu's other teammate, Hijiri, was someone Naruto liked as well. She was pretty level headed and her calmness seemed to be able to neutralize both Naruto's and Fu's energy.

What Naruto liked most about Hijiri was the fact that she was furthering her Ninja career despite the fact that she was blind; the young Namikaze could respect her determination. After hours of badgering her, Naruto even managed to get her to tell him how she manages to fight. He was astounded when he found out and understood why she finally ended up telling him – there was nothing anyone could really do to prevent it.

As for Hinata, Naruto often conversed with her near the end of each day, happy to see that her health had improved – she hadn't fainted in front of him since their conversation at Ichiraku during the first exam. He hoped he could really start becoming friends with her now.

Obviously, Naruto still had a ways to go when it came to understanding women – especially if he couldn't even figure out the excessively obvious Hinata.

Hinata seemed to enjoy hearing about the usually outrageous things he'd done during the day and Naruto found her to be rather calming. Talking to her was a good way to wind down and prepare to sleep in his opinion. Hinata was a good listener, but he didn't let himself steal the whole conversation. He tried to get her to talk as much as he could and though he wondered a bit about her stutter, it eventually grew on him and there were moments where he even caught himself finding it cute. Naruto often attributed such thoughts to him getting tired, though that had nothing to do with it.

At this point, more teams had made it to the tower, such as a Kabuto's team, Team Gai, the team from Oto, a team from Kumo, and Team 9. Counting his team, Hinata's, Fu's, and Gaara's that meant 9 times had passed the exams so far. He'd have to wait and see if any more teams would manage to pass tomorrow, but for right now he felt as though the competition was stiff enough.

The final day of the second exam had come and gone with no more teams making it through. The morning started early for Team 7, the three of them choosing to get in a bit of training before they were called together for the announcement of the third exam. Not wanting to tire themselves out too much, Team 7 focused on less physical aspects of their skills. Naruto was meditating – attempting to speak with the Kyuubi – while a few of his clones worked on a Katon Jutsu, improving the control he had over his wind nature, and a new seal.

Sasuke was putting Sakura under Genjutsu that grew in difficulty each time she dispelled one while also doing an exercise to improve his control over his lightning chakra. Their training lasted for around an hour and a half before Kushina had come to get them. Sakura fidgeted all the way to a rather large room as she walked behind the woman – completely unnerved by her mere presence the whole time.

Sasuke and Naruto really had to wonder what the hell Kushina had done to the pinkette within those Genjutsu.

Sakura refused to talk about it.

Within the room were the other 8 teams who'd made it through to the third exam along with their Jounin-Sensei, Anko, Kakashi, a few other Konoha Jounin, and Sarutobi Hiruzen. After escorting her son and his team into the room, Kushina left, telling them that she was going to go keep Karin company. Following Kushina's departure, Anko stepped forward and began to speak, the headset she wore allowed her voice to reach throughout the room thanks to the speakers.

"First off, for the second test, congratulations on passing!" As Anko looked out over the assembled Genin, she considered how many of them had passed. 9 teams – of the twenty that entered the forest, nine made it out.

Among the 60 participants, for 27 of them to get this far, thought Anko, I said I'd cut them in half, but I was expecting single digits…

Anko did notice that some of them looked beat up enough to not get any further than this though, Kiba in particular. The only reason he was even in the room right now was thanks to the wheelchair his Hyuga teammate had rolled him in on. If the next part of the exam was team based, their whole squad would be disqualified. Luckily for them, it wasn't.

"Hokage-sama will now explain the third exam," Anko spoke once more, quieting the bit of celebration the Chunin hopefuls had begun, "listen carefully! Now then, Hokage-sama, please," said Anko. Everyone was expecting the Sandaime to step up, but instead they were greeted by a flash of yellow.

Standing before them now was the Yondaime Hokage, Konoha's one and only Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato. Most everyone was surprised to see a supposed dead man before them, the only exclusions being the Konoha-min amongst them ranking higher than Chunin and the few Genin that had already met him.

"Congratulations on making it this far," said Minato, completely disregarding the surprise of all the gathered Shinobi, "I know you must all be shocked to see me alive, I assure you if you stick around Konoha for the break between the second and third exam you will come to understand how this is possible. For now though, let us get down to business, shall we?"

Minato was still met with shocked silence.

"It's about time for you all to know the true purpose of these exams." The Genin were confused, moving past their shock in order to discover what the Yondaime meant.

"What true purpose?" asked Fu, her voice raising above that of her peers. The smile Minato once had on his face when he first appeared vanished.

"You may wonder why these exams have Genin from all of the allianced countries competing. Some of you may think it is to strength our bonds with friendly competition. Others may think it is to raise the level of our Shinobi," said Minato, confusing many of the assembled Genin further. That wasn't the reason for the exams?

"That would be wrong," Minato continued, "these exams… are nothing but a replacement for war amongst us." His words left an uncomfortable silence in their wake.

"Our countries were enemies before we became allies and to lessen the excessive bloodshed, these exams came to be. You're here to give your all – to lay down your life for your village in their quest for prestige."

"Prestige!?" spat Karui, "we're putting our lives at stake for accolades!?"

Minato fixed her with a look that made her shut her mouth and Naruto looked on in shock. He'd never seen his father like this.

"Yes. You are. You all are not children any longer," said Minato, "it's time you realize that the world is not as black and white as you may think. Your village's very livelihood could hinge on your performance in these exams. You see, for the third exams, you will all be doing battle under the scrutiny of many important individuals – and these individuals are potential clients. You're the next generation of Shinobi. Your performance during the third exam will show these clients what each participating village will be capable of. And that means something. The men and women watching you all will decide what village will receive their business and what village will not. These exams are not just exams. They're a business transaction. They're a mission for each and every one of you."

The Genin remained in silence. This was not what they'd been expecting. They thought the Chunin exams was just their ticket to promotion, not an important tool of the Shinobi nations to garner the attention of clients to their villages.

"With that said, it's time I share the bad news," Minato continued, "unfortunately, the people watching the third exam tend to be very busy. With that in mind, the third exam – which will be a one-on-one tournament – needs to be short and sweet. So we need to thin the herd. Right here, right now, we will have the preliminary rounds of the third exam. You lose here and this is as far as you go. Before we begin, anyone who doesn't feel that they are up for it can leave. Simply raise your hand now."

The only one who's hand went up was Kiba. He didn't want to leave – he wanted to prove that he was just as good a Shinobi as any other Genin in this room, but the reality was that his leg had been crushed. Gaara's sand had done a number on him and he would not heal in time for the third exam, even with the assistance of medic-nin. Not that that really mattered – Kiba wouldn't heal in time for the preliminaries, seeing as how they were starting now. Minato nodded Kiba's way and Kurenai wheeled the frustrated boy out, his hands clenching the armrests of his wheelchair all the way out the door.

Minato gave it a moment, but no one else raised their hand. The Preliminaries were now officially underway. With a nod, Minato stepped back, allowing Gekkou Hayate to take command as the referee while one of the wall panels in back of the gathered Konoha Jounin began to rise.

"I am your referee for the preliminaries, Gekkou Hayate. Behind me," he coughed out, gesturing to the now raised wall panel. Hayate looked rather sickly, making the Genin wonder if he'd actually be alright. "is the electric scoreboard that will create the match-ups for these fights. Much like the actual third exam, they will be one-on-one." The Genin tensed and stared at the scoreboard. This was it.

"Let the preliminaries begin," coughed Hayate as the scoreboard came to life, cycling through name after name after name before stopping. The gathered Genin stared up at the selected fighters for the first round. Some breathed out a sigh of relief, happy that they weren't first, while others felt the exact opposite, wishing they could get their fight over with.

"There we have it. The first round will be between Kunimitsu Taro of Takigakure and Uchiha Sasuke of Konohagakure," said Hayate,"The two of you stay here. Everyone else to the second level."

Naruto looked to Sasuke and gave him a grin.

"You better win this, Teme." His reply was a scoff from Sasuke as the boy's Sharingan whirred to life.

"As if there's any doubt."

Naruto merely nodded and followed after all of the other retreating Genin to the room's second level. He soon took his place next to Sakura and Kakashi before looking down at Sasuke and Fu's teammate, Taro. Naruto had to admit, he felt sorry for Taro. Being matched up against Sasuke right off the bat was unfortunate.

"Are the two of you ready?" Questioned Hayate, his coughs following soon after. Taro jumped slightly, obviously nervous. The boy seemed perpetually nervous though. As for Sasuke, he merely gave a smooth nod.

"Then begin!"

Despite his jumpiness, Taro was the first to move, flinging shuriken at Sasuke as the Uchiha recovered a kunai from his pouch. Sasuke deflected the shuriken as Taro moved in behind them, hoping to catch Sasuke off guard.

That would not be.

The only thing Taro had managed to do was bring himself into the Uchiha's range. Sasuke deflected the last shuriken back at Taro, forcing the boy to duck his head in order to dodge. Though not as fast as Naruto, Sasuke still had quite a bit of speed himself and he used it to its fullest by closing the gap between him and Taro, his knee connecting with Taro's face. Sasuke followed up his attack with a kick that sent Taro stumbling back.

The young Taki-nin recovered well, getting his bearings fairly quickly. It just wasn't quick enough.

"Katon: Gokakyu!" A large fireball escaped from Sasuke's mouth, hurtling towards Taro at an alarming rate. Freaking out, Taro barely jumped out of the way, his clothes singed from his close proximity to the mass of fire. Waiting for Taro was Sasuke. The Uchiha wasted no time. Taking advantage of Taro's surprise, Sasuke swept him off his feet and placed a kunai to his throat. The match was over.

"I – I forfeit," squeaked out Taro. Sasuke merely smiled.

Up in the stands, Fu heaved a big sigh. Naruto – who's team happened to be between Fu's and Hinata's – looked over and gave his apologies.

"Poor Taro," whined Fu.

"Yeah… But no offense Fu, he seems kind of weak," Naruto replied, earning him a chastising glance from Sakura. He was being rude. As for Fu, she merely shrugged it off with another sigh.

"Well, Taro's specialty is in Genjutsu… Considering who he was matched up against, he didn't really have a prayer."

"His loss is most unfortunate," intoned Hijiri as Sasuke and Taro made their way to the second level. Once they'd rejoined their teammates, the board came to life once more and in moments the second match was decided.

Yakushi Kabuto vs. Fu

Fu smirked at the appearance of her name, quite pleased to get her fight done with.

"Fu," called Naruto. The mint haired girl looked his way, her head tilted to the side, "good luck, ttebayo."

Fu smiled at him and gave a nod before Jumping over the rails, landing gracefully on the lower level. Kabuto walked down the stairs leisurely, seeing no reason to jump down like Fu had. Once the two were finally facing each other, Hayate asked if they were ready. They said yes and he began the match, stepping back as the two charged each other.

Fu was fast in the air, but it seems that she was not lacking in speed on ground either. Kabuto was slower than her, not by much, but enough to give her a definitive advantage in speed. It was an advantage Fu capitalized on the moment the match begun. Though they'd both started the match in a dash at each other, Fu covered the distance between them faster, forcing Kabuto on the defensive from the get go.

Fu's fist shot out, grazing Kabuto's cheek as he tilts his head, barely dodging the blow. Kabuto replied with a swift uppercut that didn't make contact. Fu had jumped back, avoiding the strike before her foot work brought her right back into Kabuto's broken defense. She delivered a fist to his gut before twirling around to his left side, kicking at the back of his knee. Kabuto stumbled, falling forward.

Catching himself, the bespectacled Genin forced his body to the right just in time to watch Fu's foot come down where his head had once been. Quickly scrambling to his feet, Kabuto dropped back into his stance and watched as Fu bounced on her toes for a moment before she shot forward once more, zigzagging her way towards him, each of her steps leading her in a different direction than where she'd once been going.

Up in the stands, Naruto whistled as he watched the fight.

"Fu's pretty fast," he compliments, "and her style seems hard to deal with."

"You hadn't already noticed that?" Sasuke inquired, sparing a glance at his teammate before his eyes focused once more on the fight, Sharingan active.

"Well, last I saw her fight, I had my own problems to deal with – plus I was hopped up on the furry bastard's chakra," Naruto replied with a shrug, "kinda hard to make sense of things when I'm like that. Dad says I need to work on that," Naruto replies, not caring if he's overheard considering that his team was in between two teams that already knew about his father. Sasuke gave his usual "Hn" before speaking again.

"Yeah…I guess it would be," Sasuke agreed, "anyway, I got to see her use it in the forest and not much changes from when she's flying. She's in and out of enemy defenses in the span of a second, usually coming away from it unscathed based on this fight at the very least. The way she moves makes it pretty hard to aim at her if you're better at long range fighting too. Before now I thought she specialized in mid to log range combat, but it seems her Taijutsu isn't slacking either. She hasn't even gotten serious yet… I don't see Kabuto winning this."

"I wouldn't count Kabuto out just yet, Sasuke," Kakashi interjects, his eyes focused on his book, "He may have taken these exams a multitude of times, but he's one of the best up and coming medic-nin Konoha has to offer. Personally I think the only reason he keeps repeating is because he worries about others so much. Kabuto tends to do all he can to help out other Konoha-nin. It's gotten him into a few sticky situations in the past."

Sakura raised a brow at Kakashi's explanation, finding something of interest within his words as Sasuke shrugged.

"What does him being a medic-nin have to do with him winning his match?" Sakura inquired.

"And how do you even know all this stuff about him?" Naruto adds. There weren't many reasons for a Jounin like Kakashi to look into a Genin. Naruto had learned enough from his parents to know the only reason a Jounin would do that with someone that wasn't a a Genin on his team or a potential one, was if something about the Genin was suspicious.

"Well, to answer your question Naruto, I've had a role in previous Chunin exams. I've come across him before. As for your question Sakura, a good medic-nin can use their skills in battle. Just watch and you'll see."

Naruto hummed, thinking over Kakashi's response to his question before he decided to take it at face value. It didn't really matter to him if he was lying anyway. He didn't know Kabuto like that. Sakura merely did as she was told, interested to see her first glimpse of a combat medic.

Below them Fu was still putting pressure on Kabuto, basically pushing him around the arena with her speed and erratic movements. After a powerful blow to Kabuto's stomach, the bespectacled medic-nin stumbled once more. Seeing a chance to end the match here, Fu shot forward, aiming a kick at Kabuto's head.

She never saw his smirk.

Right before her attack could land, Kabuto's right hand shot up, grasping Fu's right ankle as chakra coursed through it. Fu winced as Kabuto moved her leg aside and leapt in the opposite direction. The Jinchuriki of the Nanabi hit the concrete floor, rolling once before she attempted to stand. All she could manage to do was get to her knees.

"You… What did you do to my leg?" Fu asked, frowning Kabuto's way. Kabuto merely smiled, adjusting his glasses.

"What did he do to Fu?" Sakura asked, looking up at her Sensei.

"He used a chakra scalpel," Kakashi replied, "and cut the tendons in her ankle. That last stumble of his was just an act."

"He wanted her to try kicking him. He knew she'd use her legs to try and end things… It makes sense," Sasuke contemplated, mentally giving Kabuto praise on his planning, "he's been testing out how Fu attacks this whole time. He must have noticed that when he stumbles she tries to finish him with her legs. It was just a matter of time before he decided to take them out."

"Heh, too bad that won't help him,"chuckled Naruto, "he doesn't even realize he's wasting his time." Kakashi raised a brow at this, wondering how he could possibly be wasting his time until he saw Fu literally sprout wings out of her back and rise into the air. Briefly, Kakashi realized that Sasuke had said Fu could fly. He also remembered reading over a really good paragraph in his book as Sasuke said it.

Suddenly – and with a perverse smile hidden behind his book and mask – Kakashi knew exactly why he'd forgotten.

Back on the lower level, Fu sighed as the Genin in the upper level gaped at her, making all sorts of commotion over the fact that she had wings. She didn't get it. They were Shinobi capable of spitting fire, causing tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, and lightning strikes – all she had were wings. They shouldn't impress the Genin this much, in her opinion.

"Man," Fu groaned, "I was really trying to save my ability to fly for later… You're pretty good though; tricking me like that. I'm not about to underestimate you again…" with her piece said, Fu took a deep breath before exhaling a cloud of scale powder onto the arena. She kept her eyes on Kabuto, not that it mattered. If he moved she'd know where he went. He was in a cloud of powder created by her chakra after all.

"My scale powder is highly explosive. So here's he deal, you forfeit or I'm going to have to turn everything below me – which includes you – into a cloud of fiery death."

Kabuto looked up at Fu, equal parts shocked and annoyed that she could fly. Really, she'd completely ruined all his work to cripple her. Restraining himself from huffing, he merely adjusted his glasses and raised his hands in surrender. Some of the Genin wondered why he would give up so easily, but Kabuto was smarter than that. If he decided Fu was bluffing and she wasn't, he would most likely be dead. Basically, he just didn't see the possible risks outweighing the reward – which would probably still be his loss. He wasn't about to fight the girl seriously, after all. This was fine with him. He hadn't wanted to make it to the next round anyway.

Besides, Kabuto knew Fu wasn't bluffing. He'd heard about her from Orochimaru.

"I yield." Hayate nodded and looked to Fu.

"Fu of Takigakure is the victor!" Fu smirked as she was declared the winner of the round, the sound of confused and bewildered Genin ringing out around her. Not how she wanted to win, but she didn't really care. A win was a win. And Fu liked winning.

"Heh. That's how Fu gets it done," she boasted.

There we have it, chapter 10 is all done. With that, the Preliminaries have officially begun and Naruto's team have met his parents as well as discovered that he's the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki. A lot happened on this chapter, I suppose. Next chapter we continue the exams, maybe even finish them. Oh, before I go, I have a question. What kind of summons do you think the Uzumaki clan should have?

Well, that's it for now. See you guys in chapter 11!