Why do I have to hide?
Chapter 10
Brought to you by: Anonymous Joe
Edited by: A very tired Anonymous Joe
Disclaimer: I do NOT…I repeat I do NOT own anything related to Naruto….this honor belongs to those who own its copyright…which sadly is not me.
"speech"
'thought'
"Kyuubi speech"
'Kyuubi thought'
A/N: Sorry I made a mistake earlier and called the toads "Frogs" from now on I will try to refer to them as toads but just to make it flow I added a part so those who don't read Author's Notes know about the change
(I don't know Japanese so…techniques are in English and I use honorifics whenever I feel like it…so don't ask me why, I put them in when they feel right, Sorry if you don't like this)
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Konoha's East gate-
"Halt! State your business!" screamed a chuunin guard.
The eccentric looking man smiled a friendly smile and said slyly, "Ah my good man, I am here to see my lord, drop off his charges" the man pointed to a child of about nine years of age and a young woman dressed in what seemed to be a formal Kimono. "Then I will find your nearest strip club, bar or hot spring" the man finished cheerfully.
The chuunin stared disbelievingly at the man's orange and blue hair then down to his haphazard way of dressing. His eyes then glanced to the boy and the girl and barked out, "LIAR! The lords have not yet arrived for the chuunin exams! Either you're a spy or your lord hasn't arrived yet…and by the looks of you I am betting on spy."
The man shook his head and said "No, you have this all wrong, my lord lives within those walls…" he wasn't able to make it any further. The chuunin yelled, "Spy! There aren't any lords residing within these walls other than Lady Hokage! If you claim allegiance to her, I would have been notified." The chuunin gave the man an ominous stare and said darkly, "I kill those who have no papers or the sort" his hand reaching for his kunai pouch.
The eccentric man's eyes narrowed, "Are you sure you want to do that pal" the blue haired man said coolly.
"You don't scare me FREAK" the chuunin yelled as he hit the alarm button and ran for the man and his accomplices. But he was shocked to his very core, so much so that he stopped in mid-step.
As if out of now where, a flurry of flames burst into being and a man seemed to step out of them. Naruto looked around attentively and then spied three very important people in his life. Suddenly the little boy screamed, "Brother!" and ran to Naruto's side.
A soft smile played on the gennin's face as he patted the boy's head as he was given a rough embrace by the boy. "Ya' miss me squirt?" he gruffly stated as he ruffled the kit's hair.
"Hello master" the soft and smooth voice worked its way over to the man.
Naruto noticeably cringed at hearing the words. He took in a sharp breath as he said softly, "Hiroko, you know I hate it when you call me that….especially here…they might not understand it…" The vixen just giggled it off seeing as the man had flushed a bright red.
"My lord" was the off handed remark and half bow of the blue haired man.
Naruto smiled and said full of mirth, "Edogawa, always causing a ruckus, eh?" as he returned the bow. The man just smiled a furtive smirk and brushed the comment off. As he finished the small conversation the area was flooded with Konoha ninja. The most of which consisted of Jonin or Anbu rank all staring at Naruto and his gang.
Soon Kakashi stepped forward from the crowd and coughed, getting the attention of the blonde. With a cautious eye the man said, "Naruto, are these your um…friends?"
Naruto smiled, "Yes and No. They are my kin. This is Ichigo, my adoptive brother and my ward." Naruto motioned to the boy that was standing somewhat behind him for protection. Seeing that it was alright for now, the boy stepped forward and nodded to the masked man. Naruto smiled and continued, "This is Hiroko, sister to Ichigo and my …" he coughed and glared at her as he said this part louder than needed, "...attendant."
She blushed merrily and bowed politely toward the silver haired ninja, who raised a curious eyebrow but bowed back. Edogawa held back a laugh for seeing a human bow to an…"attendant"…as Naruto put it. "You honor me too much sir" she said politely.
"And this is…" Naruto continued but was cut off by the other kitsune man.
"I will introduce myself Naruto-sama" he said toward the blonde.
Naruto sighed deeply for he knew what was coming but nodded his head anyway. 'Is this what Sarutobi felt?' he thought apprehensively.
"Probably, I know I felt this way back when he first joined the council. He is a good and strong kitsune. Also, he can be wise when the situation calls for it. He has earned his seven tails but…I am glad I no longer have to err…smooth things over with many a scorned female due to him so…" he drew out this word for a moent making it very comical before adding hastily, "good luck kit!" When his father finished slickly, Naruto swore he heard maniacal laughter coming from his father but brushed it off as he redirected his attention back to the exchange at hand.
"Thank you Naruto-sama" he said respectfully toward the three tails before directing his attention toward the crowd surrounding them. "I am the bane of all men, master of seduction and lord over the shore! I am a seven T…" receiving a glare from Naruto he quickly changed the words, "Seventh rank vulpine and a member of the advising council of Naruto-sama. I am "Edogawa the Great!"" He screamed while taking a, what some may consider, cool pose.
Naruto held back a laugh as he shot the man an amused sideways glance. The man only winked and had a playful smile on his face. Naruto proceeded to pinch the bridge of his nose and shake his head in a light hearted manner. While the Kitsune's reactions were in the range of amused to humorous the Ninja didn't have the same disposition. Edogawa had allowed a portion of his chakra level leak out to allow these mortals to see a glimpse of his true power. Some of the lower leveled ninja were taken aback and frozen in their places. Where as the elite, were impressed as well trying to find some way to protect the village if their visitor turned hostile. A thought of an Anbu wearing a bear mask was 'We have strength of numbers but we will have heavy losses if the situation is not handled correctly.'
Kakashi eyed the man suspiciously before taking a more relaxed stance. "Ah, I see. Nice to meet you, why have you come to our village without warning?"
"Do I need to give warning? For I am like the wind I go where I please" he said suavely.
Kakashi's eye widened and he began to stutter, "Y-y-you…r-r-read…" he was cut off by the blue haired Kitsune.
The Edogawa's eyes began to twinkle as he said with a little excitement in his voice, "Chapter 6 when…"
Kakashi again butted in like a giddy middle school girl, "page 56 when Daichi is first introduced to…" when the blue haired kitsune nodded back with a smile, Kakashi and Edogawa began to laugh.
Naruto let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, "Sensei. Edogawa-san. I do not believe this is an appropriate time for this…erm…type of conversation."
The two men blinked and realized that most of the Konoha-nin were giving them odd glances. Quickly, while blushing, both men murmured a slue of disappointed and half-hearted apologies. "Ano…Master what were they talking about?" "Yeah! Brother what the hell was going on?" the siblings questioned. Naruto turned pink and whispered something into the woman's ear. She quickly turned a bright red and quickly said toward her brother, "It is not something for children to know about!" The boy was about to retort when he got a silencing glance form his brother and he knew to be quiet.
"Oh that reminds me" said Edogawa pensively. "Naruto-sama, the guard said something about chuunin exams, what are they?"
Naruto shivered as his eyes widened, 'Oh crap! I thought you told them already.'
"No, I didn't but you can't ignore it now…this is going to complicate things kit' the great demon said with a sigh.
With a little trepidation he asked, 'Why?"
His father sighed, "Because if they decide that it is a formal event…"
'Aw DAMN IT!' screamed Naruto and his father just laughed.
Quickly Naruto came back to reality and opened his mouth to dismiss the subject but Kakashi cut him to the chase. "Oh, I thought Naruto would have told you already."
Edogawa's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "No, he hasn't mentioned it to the council yet…"
"In that case I'll explain it. It is an exam in which select gennin, like Naruto, are allowed to demonstrate their abilities for a chance to move up to the rank of chuunin."
Edogawa turned toward Naruto and said, "So it is like our um…the ceremony where we move up in our class system?" Naruto looked away trying to think of something that would derive a favorable outcome. Edogawa said again sternly, "I thought you said you won't keep secrets from your kin."
At that Naruto nodded his head and said ashamed, "Yes, It is like our ceremony."
"Great! Then I'll inform the council!" cheerfully replied Edogawa.
"No!" after a sigh of defeat Naruto said again, "Never mind, just go…" The odd man then snapped his fingers and disappeared in a swirling inferno of blue flames. The ninja all stared at each other for a moment and in two seconds the flames reappeared and Edogawa stepped out from them with a smile on his face. "We will be there with bells on…even Takahashi-teme said he will come!" 'Though I think he is hoping to see you get beaten to a bloody pulp…' He thought reflectively.
Naruto sighed and said quietly for only himself to hear, "Great….just what I needed."
Kakashi coughed again to gain their attention again; he was starting to get annoyed at being ignored by the group. "So Naruto, I guess these will be your guests at the exams?"
"Yes along with um…" he pulled out his hand and ticking off fingers, "Six more" Edogawa coughed and glared at him and Naruto blushed, "I meant seven more…"
"I see well then I will escort you to Lady Hokage's office to register your guests" Kakashi said and nodded toward the other ninja, most of whom disappeared in a flash.
"MY ETERNAL RIVAL, I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO BE THE ONLY ESCORT FOR OUR DISTINGUISHED GUESTS! WE WILL HELP TOO!"
Kakashi sweat dropped at hearing Gai's voice. "Gai-sensei! If I am unable to help you in this task I will do three thousand, one handed push-ups while using the other hand to write notes of youthful love to my girlfriend!"
A genjutsu descended upon the duo of pristine waves crashing upon rocks with a slowly setting sun in the background. Gai looked at his student and said emotionally, "Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!" yelled Lee as he hugged his teacher. The kitsune all wore disgusted and confused faces.
"Umm…Naruto?" asked Edogawa.
Naruto's eye twitched, "He…he has a girlfriend!" he screamed, dismayed by the very idea.
Kakashi sighed and answered both their questions with an unenthusiastic, "Don't ask…" as he pulled out the orange book and began to read which attracted the attention of the seven tailed Kitsune.
"Is that the newest one?" the blue/orange haired man asked giddily. The masked man's eye curved into an upside down "U" shape as he nodded. "Jiraiya gave me this copy after…well the circumstances don't matter" he said slyly.
As the two perverted men continued their conversation, Lee and Gai walked over to the group after finishing their "emotional & touching" man hug.
"Naruto-kun! You made many friends in your travels I see!" Lee stated enthusiastically.
"Yes, yes I have" Naruto said kindheartedly.
"Is this your girlfriend?" Lee asked kindly indicating Hiroko with his gaze.
Hiroko began to blush prettily and Naruto began to stutter, "N-no! D-D-definitely not! She is just my attendant and friend. In turn for her service as my attendant I agreed to take in her brother as my ward…that's all."
"Oh I see. That was very kind of you Naruto! I wish I had a ward!" shouted Lee.
"Well…" Naruto said grinning evilly toward Ichigo and his sister. Both paled significantly while Ichigo mouthed "NO!" because he seemed unable to find his voice. Naruto winked and said, "I am sure you'll be able to find one just as…um...youthful as Ichigo in time."
"YES! I will! Then I can teach him the great teachings of Gai-sensei and hard work!" Lee replied. Those who were listening to their conversation paled thinking of another poor child forced to wear a bowl cut and green spandex.
"Well, we should head for the tower now…" Kakashi said over his shoulder as they all nodded and set out.
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Hokage tower-
Tsunade let out another scream of anger. "I thought this would be easy! But nooooooooooooo! The council wants my budget plan in triplicate. And then there is Anko saying that she can't figure out how to get a round robin to work with fifteen people! I HATE THIS JOB!"
Unexpectedly there was a knock at the door making her jump a little bit. After dusting off her shirt and making sure that there wasn't any drool on her face she called toward the door. "Who is it?"
The uncharacteristically upbeat voice of Kakashi wafted through the door, "I brought with me the ones who set off the alarm earlier."
Confused she replied, "Come in…" Her doors opened revealing the group of ninja and kitsune. She had only a few moments to survey the group, there was the green clad men and Kakashi. What came next surprised her; there was Naruto standing next to a man with an odd taste in fashion and had orange and blue hair. Behind the blonde man there were a young looking woman and a child of about nine who was clinging onto Naruto's shirt for comfort. What he did had her in a state of shock; Naruto lowered his hand and ruffled the boy's hair in a fatherly type manner.
"My, my! Naruto-sama you didn't tell me you had such a lovely lady as the Hokage's wife" Edogawa said slyly as he made his approach toward the woman. "Why don't you and I get to know each other better later" he winked as he took her stunned hand and kissed it all the while staring at her chest. Tsunade felt the anger begin to rise in her and her free hand clenched. After a moment of grinding her teeth, she punched the deserving kitsune with amazing force. The man went flying into a wall causing dust to fly. He slowly stood up and cracked his neck. "Oh, you're a feisty one, eh? I don't mind" he smirked and he winked at the woman.
She felt sickened at this mans actions. His pompous attitude assuming that, since she was a woman she wasn't the Hokage. Then making advances like this, 'who is this jerk?' she thought angrily. Seeing the displeasure written on their hokage's face; Kakashi, Lee and Gai all took a defensive stance in front of her with their kunai drawn. "You will not address Lady Hokage like this!" screamed Gai. "Naruto, JUST WHO THE HELL IS HE!" screamed Tsunade.
Edogawa paled and pointed a limp finger at the now furious woman as he stuttered, "N-N-Naruto-sama…s-she is the h-hokage!"
"Of course I am you bastard! What? Just because I am a woman you automatically think I can't be the leader of a village?" yelled Tsunade in a fury.
Naruto shook his head and said sternly, "Edogawa-san what would Yamamoto-chan have to say about all of this?"
"You wouldn't" he said trying to cover his fear but his body language betrayed his inner fright. Naruto's reply was a foxy grin and an evil glint in his eye. Edogawa audibly swallowed and said gloomily, "Sorry ma'am, my actions were uncalled for. Please forgive me" he unenthusiastically said in a semi-bow toward the hokage.
"Bull! Naruto just who is this…this…this pervert!" yelled the hokage.
Naruto's eyes steeled and he said with an edge of embarrassment, "I am sorry for the actions of my subordinate. He is a high ranking official within my government. He is a council member of the vulpine, in fact."
The ninja's eyes widened for different reasons but Lee was the first to get his tongue untied and asked, "Naruto what do mean "your" government?" At hearing the question Gai nodded and Kakashi and Tsunade exchanged worried glances.
Ichigo gasped and yelled, "Brother, they don't know you're…"
Naruto quickly silenced him by raising a stern hand. The blue and orange hair man started too, "Sir, you mean to tell me they don't even KNOW you're standing. I mean, quite honestly the reason the council allows your tenure here is to improve mortal and…"
He was also cut-off by a strict glare and a raised hand. "Lee, what I meant was that I am a clan heir and the internal clan government."
Lee's face became understanding and said, "Oh that's right I remember hearing that somewhere before…but Naruto-kun what clan was it again?"
Kakashi and Tsunade tensed feeling the anger rolling off of all the kitsune in the room. After a moment Naruto took a deep breath and said as civilly as possible, "We are the Vulpine, Lee"
"Oh I never heard of that one before!" Lee said cheerfully. Kakashi and Tsunade had sharp intakes of breath as they felt the anger of kitsune raise to the point that the adult kitsune were all shaking in anger.
Oblivious to this Gai addressed his pupil, "That's probably because they come from a far away land!" At the sight of Lee accepting this Kakashi and Tsunade let out their baited breath seeing that the anger from the Vulpine members seemed to quell.
"Why else do you think that man wears such a goofy and tacky outfit?" continued Gai.
Seeing that Edogawa was beginning to crack his knuckles, and not wanting another October 10th, Tsunade stepped in. She coughed gaining the attention of both mentor and student before continuing, "I thank you for your service, I believe Kakashi, Naruto and I have the situation under control. You will be paid for your overtime in your next pay check, you are dismissed." They were going to protest but seeing the look in her eyes they decided it would be for the best to leave. Together they nodded and left the room.
Once they were gone Naruto let out a deep sigh as he walked forward and took a heavy seat in front of the hokage's desk. "Sorry about this granny…"
Under normal circumstances she would have throttled him for his use of "granny"…but these weren't normal circumstances. Her thoughts were cut short when the blue haired man began to rant, "Tacky?... TACKY? How dare someone who wears SPANDEX call ME tacky?"
This drew the attention of the room towards him; but he just looked at them confused and said comically, "WHAT?" All in the room began to laugh at the man's ranting. "I am sorry, but I do NOT see how someone can call a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts and sandals tacky."
His comment only brought more laughter and when Naruto had finally calmed down he said light heartedly toward his councilman, "No, they aren't tacky at the shore…but we are no where near the ocean, so they look out of place here."
"And green spandex is in style?" he asked questioningly with an air of disbelief.
"Um…" Naruto scratched the back of his head trying to think of something nice to say about the "Green Beasts of Konoha's" wardrobe but drew blank.
A couple of coughs from Tsunade brought their attention to her and she put on a serious face. "They can be…a little strange in their wardrobe but they are great shinobi. I highly doubt that they meant to insult you, sometimes they can be a little uncouth."
"I see…" Edogawa said with distaste.
"Yes, but that is not at issue here. We are here because you came to the village without papers or warning!" yelled the hokage in an annoyed fashion.
"Are you saying that the Vulpine are unwelcome here?" asked Edogawa slyly but with an edge to his voice. "If that is the case we will have to revoke the privilege of having one of our kin, let alone the heir, in you ranks" he said with a serious face and the voice had a little bite to it.
'Whoa…I have never seen him act like this…' thought Naruto nervously.
"What is the number one law of hunting?" asked his father seriously.
Naruto sighed and let out in a monotone thought, 'Never underestimate your prey for it may be the wolf hiding in the sheep's clothing.'
"WRONG!" yelled his father.
'WHAT! I practiced those stupid rules you gave me for months in this realm" yelled Naruto indignant at his father's criticism.
"You FORGOT the MOST important rule!" his father yelled with a malevolent smirk.
'Which is?' Naruto said with his eye twitching.
"The number ONE rule is…" He paused for dramatic effect, "Never forget to take your antacid before the hunt, for prey sometimes can give you really bad heartburn!" he finished smiling.
Naruto felt his anger growing at father's attempts at humor. The vein on his forehead began to twitch as he yelled, 'Baka Fox!' and quickly left the dreamscape.
'Kit, you need to learn to TAKE a joke…besides it was on the first page of manual I gave you' he thought as he laughed at his son's actions. As eh thought about his joke, the fox sighed as he mumbled, "that was lame though…'
When Naruto came back to reality he found Tsunade sighing and saying, "I didn't mean it like that, but thanks to you, all the paperwork that I dumped on Anko is trivial compared to the amount that I have now"
Edogawa's eyes widened and his face began to show signs of understanding. His voice cut through the tense air, dripping with empathy, "I understand, when you are swamped with paperwork the stress can get to even the best of us. It can cause us to act irrationally but I know a great cure for the stress. Why don't you and I go somewhere and I'll show you?" He winked at her and he subconsciously flicked his eyes toward her chest again.
Tsunade's face turned a bright red as her anger soared; she began to clench her fists and let a low growl escape her throat. Then through gritted teeth she was able to barely get out, "Naruto-kun, do you want to get the hose for your esteemed guest or should I?"
Naruto turned a disgusted face toward the councilman, "Edogawa please control yourself…"
Edogawa then retorted with a sly smirk, "Come on Naru-chan, you're the one who gives me so much paperwork; the least you could let me do is have a little fun!"
Naruto was about to retaliate when Tsunade cut him off with a question in a bemused voice, "Naru-chan?" Seeing the blonde man shoot a menacing glace at the seven tails made her burst out laughing. After a moment when she had caught her breath, she said merrily, "I finally have something to call you after all of the times you called me "granny.""
Naruto paled deeply sighed. He then shot an evil look back at Edogawa as he said venomously, "Pervert!"
Edogawa smirked as he said with mirth, "I wouldn't be talking if I were you! I am not the one here with a concubine…" his smile grew because he knew how much this term bothered the heir but he didn't realize the consequences of these words. Otherwise he would have done it sooner; the look on the three tails was priceless during the following exchange.
Hiroko face flushed and tried to hide behind Naruto whom at the moment was gasping like fish out of water. Tsunade blinked at the two and then began to turn red with rage and her voice was filled with disappointment. "Naruto is that true…is that…that girl your concubine and that boy your secret lovechild!"
All of the mentioned kitsune turned deep red and all three began yell their retorts at the same time, "She ain't my concubine, she is just an attendant!"
"That's gross! She is my sister not my mom!"
"Please don't think something like that! He is just my master…" Hiroko whispered the last part and seemed to be disappointed, "…nothing more"
A now standing Naruto finished the group's grumblings with, "Besides, Ichigo is just nine human years old! How the could he be mine, what kind of a person do you think I am?" While in the background Edogawa was practically rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter.
Tsunade slightly embarrassed turned pink, "I just thought that…well…demons might…well...uh mature faster…"
Edogawa began laughing harder at her words drawing attention towards himself again he then scoffed and said, "Well, my dear, you don't have to worry at least you're not a doctor then we would all be in trouble!" When he finished all he could later recall was that he began to chuckle, than a ferocious growl, a fist, horrendous pain and then the blissful nothingness of unconsciousness.
The kitsune siblings were backed against the wall wearing faces of shock as Edogawa was sprawled unconscious on the floor. Tsunade was leaning over her desk with her fist where the crumpled man once stood and breathing heavily. While Naruto was standing stiff as a board with his hands at his sides and his mouth tightly shut due to the conditioning that was built up since Tsunade had come to the village.
After a moment of silence the man on the floor began to stir moaning from the pain. Naruto looked at the man pitifully and shook his head. The blonde man bent down and began to tap the other man's cheeks to make him wake up. When all he received was more groaning, Naruto turned to the fuming woman and asked, "I know he went over the line but can you please help?"
Her eyes narrowed and after a moment she sighed and began mumbling the mantra, "I will do no harm, I will do no harm, I will do no harm…" as she got up and made her way over toward the fallen man.
"Master I'll help too" Hiroko chimed in, while moving closer to help.
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Five minutes later-
Edogawa's eyelids cracked open and his glance shot around the room trying to determine where he was. Naruto released a heavy sigh and said "Are you alright?"
The seven tailed kitsune looked over at Tsunade with a nervous and respectful gaze as he timidly raised his hand to where she had hit him, "That actually stings…you're pretty good…for a human anyway." Naruto gave him a skeptical glance since the man had tears welling in his eyes and a large swelling on his head. 'Only stings, eh?' thought the blonde man.
As Naruto and Hiroko helped the man up during which Naruto leaned in and whispered into the man's ear, "She is the most revered medical ninja in the world, I wouldn't insult her again or you might find yourself unable to produce heirs." When Naruto finished this Edogawa paled and made a mental note not to make this lady before him get angry again.
"Why are you here?" asked Tsunade sternly and suddenly.
"To see how the heir is faring and update him on how our realm is doing" he quickly said not wanting to be hit again. But then his face showed that he had just remembered something and said reflectively toward Naruto, "That reminds me the voluntary police force you suggested it working wonderfully! Crime is down 34!"
Naruto, after hearing some words from his father, said, "Edogawa-san the inner workings of the clan are not for human ears…they do not need to know about our delinquents."
All in the room looked at him oddly and Kakashi and Tsunade seemed to be hurt and offended by his remark. Shakily Tsunade said, "Is that what you think of us now Naruto? Just "humans" as you put it? Do you think you're better than us just because of a deal you made?"
Edogawa jumped in seeing that Naruto had a bad case of foot in mouth disease. "Of course he does, just like the rest of us! We are the vulpine! We are Kitsune!" he said distastefully. Then he looked at them with saddened eyes, "Or that is how we were taught…"
"Sorry but that was a direct request from my father…I didn't mean for it to sound so rude. I just repeated his words" Naruto said sadly.
Edogawa began to chuckle emptily, "That sounds like Kyuubi-sama."
"I see, please next time try not to be so egotistic when you phrase it or let us know who is saying it…" said a little peeved Hokage.
"Yeah, I will" embarrassedly stated Naruto as he scratched the back of his neck.
"So is there anything else I need to know?" Tsunade sighed.
Naruto proceeded to tell her that the kitsune would be attending the chuunin exams. At first she was not pleased but after a few hours of persuading her, she finally came around but on one condition: that kitsune, under any situation, would not reveal their true form or identities.
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On the way to Naruto's apartment –
"Naru-chan, what are we doing in the slums? I don't think this is too safe" Edogawa said nervously as he looked around constantly for danger.
Naruto twitched at the nickname and said, "Stop acting so jumpy, no one will jump us as long as we don't stop or flaunt any money we have."
'Why did I have to take them all to my house?' an anguished Naruto thought.
"The inn was full, remember?" his father answered humorously
'Oh yeah…THIS SUCKS!' yelled Naruto at his father.
"Good luck kit. You're gonna need it with Edogawa and Hiroko staying at your den" his father said sympathetically but still sniggering the whole time.
'Thanks a lot…' huffed Naruto sarcastically.
"Master, what do you mean?" asked Hiroko as they turned left and Naruto's apartment building came into view.
"You seem well acquainted with the area. Why is that?" added the blue and orange haired man.
Naruto let a small smile play on his lips as he slowly raised his hand and pointed towards the dilapidated apartment building in front of them, "Because that's my home…"
"They make you live HERE!" said an outraged Edogawa.
"Remember sister? He told us about this once" added an upbeat but nervous Ichigo. A look of realization crossed the girl's face and she nodded.
Naruto stated remotely, "Yes, I live here and not by choice. Although forced to live here I have no complaints, it doesn't leak much, and I have indoor plumbing and electricity so I am content." Then his face cheered up and he began to laugh, "Just imagine how I felt when I saw my palace in our realm."
A kind and understanding look crossed Edogawa's eyes as he said with sincere respect, "Now I understand why you care so much about the underprivileged and the poor." Naruto nodded in confirmation as they made their way up the steps toward his apartment.
"But lets get off this topic it is only depressing us! My home might not be much but I hope you enjoy it" Naruto said cheerfully and a silly grin plastered on his face. He reached out and undid the numerous locks and safety precautions before opening the door. As he undid the locks all the other kitsune raised their eyebrows and Ichigo said, "Naruto? Isn't this a little excessive?" The other two seemed to agree by nodding their heads.
"Nah, Good fences make good neighbors. In my case, I use good locks" he said casually brushing aside the comment. With that they entered the shabby little apartment.
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Naruto's Apartment –
Surprisingly the apartment wasn't that dirty except the occasional empty instant ramen container or the scrolls and books hastily shoved into a second-hand bookshelf. But the scene was ruined when a scream arose from Hiroko as a cockroach crawled out of the empty ramen container.
"WHAT IS THAT!" she screamed in an unladylike fashion.
Naruto let out nervous laughter as he said ashamed, "Sorry. I have been trying to rid of them for a while now but…as you can tell it isn't working too well."
In typical little boy manner Ichigo's eyes brightened up as he said in an awed voice, "Coooool!" He quickly ran over to the empty cup and scooped up the bug and began walking it over toward the group. Naruto was laughing because Hiroko was trying to hide behind him while yelling at Ichigo to kill it.
Edogawa sighed and lifted his hand. He snapped his fingers and the bug disappeared in blue flames. Naruto gave him a curious gaze while Hiroko said gratefully, "Thank you! That thing was disgusting!"
"What did ya' do that for? Sis was about to have a heart attack!" Ichigo pouted.
"That is why I got rid of it. Noble demons like ourselves have to respect others especially women" preached Edogawa in a noble and dignified manner.
"Don't give me that shit…where did you send it?" asked Naruto slyly.
Edogawa took a quick intake of breath and said comically, "Why I would never…"
Naruto gave his an evil grin, "That was a transportation Jutsu, so where did you send it?"
"Well, Due to this concussion I think I have I might have mistakenly sent it somewhere…" he replied devilishly.
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Hokage's Office
Tsunade sat fuming as she worked on fudging the paperwork for allowing Naruto's "guests" to come. 'Just which country should I say they came from….ARGH! He makes things so difficult' angrily thought the blonde woman.
Grabbing the sake bottle that was near by; she took a large swig and began working again. Suddenly her head felt a little warm and small "pop" was heard in the room.
She arched her eyebrows curiously as she said aloud, "What was that?" looking around and finding nothing she continued to write down names and fake passports. In frustration she shook her head violently while using her hands to mess up her hair. On to the paper flew the cockroach where it began to make hissing sounds.
Her eyes widened in disgust and the right side of her mouth began to twitch. After a moment of delayed response, she screamed loud enough for the windows to rattle from the intensity.
"Hokage-sama!" yelled the worried Anbu that had rushed into the room to protect her. Instead of an assassin, terrorist, ninja gone postal or some other deadly presents that could be making the Hokage scream like this, they found something more amusing. There stood Tsunade holding a rolled up scroll with squished bug innards on it. She was gasping to recover her breath and was mumbling loud enough for them to hear, "The damn Aburame! They are always leaving one of those things in my office when they give me their debriefings. This time they're not going to get away with it….Oh no! Sixteen D ranked missions for each of them and I'll make them do something with public speaking…that will show 'em!"
Somewhere Shino sneezed and felt an ominous aura fall upon him and his clan. Tsunade turned her head and looked at the document that she was holding at the moment. Her pupils doubled their size in fear once again because they were covered in the guts of the roach and were now unreadable. She then for the second time screamed but this time with even more force, so much so that the Anbu had to cover their ears in hope of keeping their hearing. "All that work! It is all wasted…" she was able to get out through her cracking voice. She then began to weep on the shoulder of the nearest Anbu agent who in turn gently patted her on the back.
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Naruto's Apartment
"You did WHAT?" yelled Naruto amused and astonished at the same time.
"I maybe sent her a little present for this" he smirked evilly as he pointed to his head where a large lump was forming from where Tsunade had hit him.
"THAT IS SO AWESOME! I never thought about sending granny a cockroach. I wish I could have seen her face." Naruto said childishly.
"Hey brother, can I pull some pranks while I am here too?" asked Ichigo eagerly.
Naruto began to rub his hands together giddily, "Of course! We all can…as long as we don't get caught! But if we do then…well, we'll face the consequences later."
"I knew you were a kitsune at heart Naru-chan!" Edogawa said evilly as he began to rub his hand together as well, thinking of great pranks.
They all looked each other in the eyes and began to laugh maniacally before a shrill voice cut them off. "Now boys we can't go making all the humans mad at us, now can we? Imagine what we would do if they came to our city and began causing havoc" scolded Hiroko while handing an ice pack to Edogawa.
He looked at her kindly and said, "Thank you."
She blushed a little from the compliment and walked back over towards the kitchen where she began cleaning without Naruto noticing.
Naruto sighed and said dejectedly, "I guess she is right…but that doesn't mean we can play little harmless tricks…just tell me before you do them and I'll tell you if they are okay. I don't want to screw up our potential treaty with silly little jokes." Edogawa silently nodded in agreement and surprisingly, so did Ichigo. Then Naruto got a wicked smirk, "That comes AFTER the treaty…" they looked at each other and began another fit of laughter.
"Hey Naruto, do you know how to play Mahjong?" Edogawa asked furtively.
Naruto replied modestly, "A little…"
"What about you squirt?" he asked in fatherly manner toward Ichigo.
The boys eyes widened, "M-me?"
The man nodded playfully, "Of course you, we need four players."
The boy's eyes began to sparkle, "You mean I get to play with you guys? A seven tails and my brother the heir!" he yelled cheerfully.
"Only if your brother approves…" the man said pondering. Hearing this, the boy quickly began to make puppy-dog eyes at Naruto.
"Yes, yes I don't see why not…Hey, Hiroko come on over, we need a fourth player" Naruto finished calling towards the hardworking woman.
"Ano, I will if you really want me too but I have no clue how to play…nor do I have any interest" she mumbled the last part so Naruto could pick up on it but Edogawa couldn't.
"I see, well we need a fourth player…" Naruto grumbled.
Edogawa paused and said, "Everyone I know is busy right now, mostly with family problems." After a few moments the blue and orange haired man said, "Don't you have a contract with the toads?"
"Yeah! I'll just summon one of them. Just so you know I think they like to be called frogs!" Naruto said with a smile.
"Actually Naruto, they are toads but since of the negative perception of toads and witches they told people they were frogs… Now they like to be called toads again" astutely said Edogawa.
Naruto face vaulted and Ichigo said awed, "Really?"
The man broke a cheesy grin and said cheerfully, "Nah! I was only joking! They rather be called "toads" but "frogs" is alright though not correct."
"Fine whatever lets just call one here so we can play" Naruto said composedly. He quickly bit his finger and made the seals and thought 'Toad!'
Suddenly a cloud of smoke appeared where Naruto had put his hand to summon the lesser demon. From the clearing smoke a coughing was heard and the figure of Gamakichi appeared.
He looked up and saw the blonde's face and stated rather rudely, "Oh It's only you. What do you want this time?"
Edogawa coughed and drew the attention of the toad toward him. The toad's eyes widened and said confusedly, "Aren't you with the vulpine?"
Edogawa smiled, "So you have heard of me! I am the great Seven Tailed Kitsune Edogawa..."
"Stop right there buddy, I heard of you from my uncle. You still owe him a bar tab of 40,000 from the last time you were in our prefecture" the toad said with a little bite in his voice.
"Oh…right" Edogawa blushed and began looking anywhere but the toad.
"Naruto, pops ain't gonna be happy when he hears you've been hangin' around with these types…" scolded the toad.
"What is that supposed to mean…" growled Edogawa.
"See look at him" the toad gestured toward him as he spoke to Naruto, "They are friendly at first and true to their word, their EXACT word…like lawyers. They always find a loophole, so be careful" the toad finished in a warning tone. Before Naruto could say a word in edgewise the toad began to talk again, "Anyway I'm gonna have to tell the boss about this. Could you tell me why you're hangin' around with these kitsune and why you summoned me?"
Naruto struggled to keep a strait face during the toad's rant knowing Gamakichi was about to have a bad case of foot in mouth disease. "Oh I dunno Gamakichi, I think they are pretty honorable. I should know too…" Naruto siad mysteriously.
The toad looked at him skeptically, "Oh and how would you know that?"
Naruto let out a strange grin allowing his canines to be seen predominantly as he stood up, "Because, I am one." Upon finishing his declaration he let his chakra begin to flow normally and the change took effect. His three tails popped out the top of the waist of his pants and the ears grew in. His teeth grew into fangs and claws took the place of his fingernails.
The toad was bewildered at the sight before him, "But…but…but only humans can sign the scroll!"
"I was a human then…Now I am half-demon" he said cheerfully with his tails waving majestically behind him showing his happiness.
Gamakichi's showed bewilderment and turned toward Edogawa, "h-how…?"
Edogawa smiled politely, "He was adopted by Kyuubi-sama a few human months back. He is our new heir."
Gamakichi almost fainted as he murmured, "then it is true…the rumors the kitsune have finally chosen a successor…"
"Yep! That's me…" Naruto said kindly.
"Um…I'm sorry if I offended you before I really didn't mean those things" Gamakichi said nervously.
Naruto waved him off with a hand and shook his head, "Already forgotten."
"Well I better go tell pops so we can figure all this out. He will probably call an assembly of demons to straiten out the details and introduce you into our ranks…" the toad said quickly aiming the last part toward Naruto.
Naruto began waving his hand uncaringly, "But that isn't why I called you here." Seeing the toad give him a puzzled look he smiled. "Come on relax no need to be so formal, right?" he asked the demons around him as he motioned toward the spot on the other side of the table. Compiling Edogawa and Ichigo turned into their half demon forms and seemed to visibly relax, Edogawa even let out a contented sigh.
The toad looked at them curiously and Edogawa said happily, "Come on, this is a casual get-together between demons! Relax!" After the kitsune said that, the toad looked around and seeing that even Hiroko was in her half demon form he tepidly closed his eyes and allowed his half demon form to be seen. He looked like any other human being except his nostrils were a little squashed like a toad's. If he had tails, Naruto observed, he hid them very well.
"Toads are odd…I never found out about there class system. If I were you I wouldn't ask either, demons are quiet protective of their clan secrets" the great Kyuubi answered the unasked question.
'Like I would' replied the indignant Naruto.
"Yes you would…" he retorted with a smirk on his face.
"Don't say anything" said the short and stout man who was now sitting where Naruto had indicated earlier.
"About what?" Naruto asked confused and the toad lifted his hand and pointed to the top of Ichigo's head and then his own showing he was only a few inches taller. Seeing that the Kitsune understood and kept their mouths shut, Gamakichi said in a annoyed tone, "Can you tell me why you brought me here?"
Hiroko brought some tea and placed it by the players and politely left. They all took it gracefully and began to drink politely waiting for a response. . After a moment, Naruto called and thank you toward the woman making her blush before returning his attention back toward the group. "I brought you because…Do you know how to play?" he asked holding up some titles used to play.
The toad smiled evilly and said slyly, "Of course I know how to play but why not make it more interesting?"
Edogawa's face broke out in glee as he said ominously, "I was hoping you would say that.
After a few moments they reached and agreement. Gamakichi repeated it just make the terms clear, "Alright, The blue haired freak plays with his debt, I play with my recent pay check, Naruto plays with his money and the kid will bet with a set amount given to him from Naruto and once he is out he can no longer gain or lose points, Understood?"
Icchigo looked nervous, "Brother are you sure this is alright I mean it is a lot of money and I am not too good."
"Don't worry about it; I have a lot since they just paid me for my training counting it as long duration A-rank mission, so you can guess the pay was decent. Besides when you bet your money you should already count it as gone. That way you can never get into trouble and you're not stressed when playing, got it?" Naruto said kindly and short of breath.
"So…you're saying that it is alright for me to lose all this money?" Ichigo asked.
"Bingo! But just don't TRY to lose all your money or you'll miss out on some of the fun" smiled Naruto back.
"Alright!" cheered the boy.
'Dead money' thought Gamakichi and Edogawa practically licking their chops.
That was how they spent their time together well into the wee hours of the night. Laughter and stories made the time fly by.
It was 3:00 A.M. and about an hour before the party had ended and Gamakichi had left with a little lighter of a wallet and a smile. Naruto at the moment looked woefully at his empty wallet as he sat on his futon on the ground. He then shot an envious glace at the now soundly sleeping seven tails, who at the moment was sleeping on his bed.
Next to the pajama clad three tails, peacefully slept Ichigo with a smile on his face. 'Well at least he had fun. Heck I had fun so I guess the money was worth it…but damn it I didn't know Edogawa was so good…' thought Naruto as he sighed and tossed the wallet to the side.
"You got your ass handed to you!" his father laughed.
'Shut up. I know…if only granny was there then I would have had a chance' Naruto thought jokingly only making his father laugh more.
Suddenly a soft hand on his knee brought him back to the reality only to find Hiroko who was sleeping in the futon on the other side of to him had accidentally put her hand on his knee. Blushing madly he quickly removed her hand and put it on her futon.
Sighing he went back into deep thought about the upcoming exams. Ripping him from thought once again was Hiroko. This time though was a little more that the innocent hand, in her sleep with lightening speed, she had wrapped her arms around his stomach and put her head in his lap. Shocked Naruto stared incredulously at the lightly snoring figure. Snapping out of his daze he began to try to gently pry her off of him, which only caused her to tighten her death grip on him.
"Hiroko, get off me!" he whispered harshly as he continued his futile attempts to free himself. This continued for a couple of moment and amazingly she stayed asleep but the other occupants in the room began to stir due to the ruckus. Not wanting to wake the others, Naruto sighed in defeat and stopped trying to pry the girl off of himself. He could have sworn that he saw her smirk for a moment but on closer inspection chalked it up to his imagination. 'This is gonna be a long night…' whined Naruto to his father.
"And a rather entertaining morning!" chortled his father.
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Time skip: Day of the exams
Thankfully for Naruto and much to the disappointment of the Kyuubi, Hiroko woke up early that morning to fix breakfast. Finding herself looking into the annoyed and embarrassed eyes of Naruto made her quickly remove herself and quietly spout apologies to him.
That had been a week ago and today was the big day. The past week flew by him. What did was varied but He mostly trained, got Edogawa out of trouble, ate lunch with his team (though he only went to see Hinata), occasionally played tail ball deep in the woods with Ichigo and gambled at night with his demon friends. He was getting better and had actually made a small profit last night.
Though right now his mind was far form gambling or fun, instead it was focused on one thing and that was the chuunin exam. He examined himself in the mirror and smiled audaciously at his image. The others had already gone to the stadium to get their seats and to allow him to have the apartment to get ready.
"You ready?" asked his father trying to pump up his son.Naruto nodded silently but his father could feel the man's excitement rebound over the mental link.
Naruto face began to twitch showing the bounds of his restraint being tested but finally he gave in. He took a deep breath and shouted, "HELL YEAH!" into the sky. Afterward he recovered and placed back on his formal manners the vulpine had drilled into him. Slowly raised his hand to his ear level as he prepared himself for the challenges ahead. With on last deep breath he snapped his fingers and the inferno engulfed his figure sending him to his fate.
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Konoha Stadium –
The masses were excitedly murmuring unintelligibly in the stands waiting for the event they all had been waiting so long for. The Hokage and Kazekage sat in the private box waiting for the time for the event to commence. The large electronic board in the stadium showed pictures of the people in the stands. Tsunade smiled, since making this a three day long event the stands were packed by varying types of people. Of course there were the nobles and the sort who wanted to see what the villages had to offer but along with them came a different type of fan. In the cheaper seats they had just recently opened to the public were fanatics covered in their village's colors and held banners with different encouraging slogans for their teams. The big screen showed a man with a beer dispensing hat and Tsunade felt an inkling of jealously but knew that the turning her hokage hat into one was not the wisest choice. Suddenly the background music in the stadium stopped ad the big screen began to flash the time: 12:30. The crowd instantly hushed and a deep announcer's voice filled the air.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Konoha Chuunin exams!" it said smoothly. Cheering erupted from the cheaper seats and soon it seamed to infect many in the crowd as well. "This year a different type of elimination round has been devised for this portion of the exam. It will last three action packed days, allowing you to feel triple the excitement!" more cheering and fanatic yelling.
"This year we have fifteen competitors, and let's introduce them now!" The voice called whipping the crowd into frenzy. Spotlights and fog machines went into effect as the rock, grass, sand and stone teams were introduced. During this time Gaara leaned over and whispered into Tsunade's ear, "Isn't this a little excessive?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly and he responded, "Fog machines?"
She smiled with mirth, "I wanted fireworks, laser lights and confetti but this is all the council would give. It makes it more exciting and helps sell the ninja better."
Gaara let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head and returned his attention toward the ninja now being introduced.
"Now for the hometown teams!" yelled the voice and it got the crowd screaming and yelling various cheers. The big screen started to play an intro movie of three figures covered in shadow flashing is accordance with the rising tempo. Suddenly fire and the konoha leaf flashed up on and the next scene began. The screen changed to show a large Number "10!" and soon the pictures of the ninja in the group popped up with their names appearing with different visual effects below them. Once the intro video had wrapped up the voice began the introductions.
"Here he is, the mountain man; Chouji Akimichi!" the voice called as in walked Chouji carrying his snacks with the spotlights following him. He smiled and waved at the many people in the stands. He then walked proudly over to the contestants' box and took his seat.
"Next the women of blades, TEN-TEN …" her last name was drowned out by the din create by her many supporting fans in the stands. Boys rose from their seats to get a better look at the girl but most where dragged back down by their girlfriend/wife.
Out came the jaw dropping girl in a stunning outfit and a large katana on her side. She winked at her many adoring fans and lifted a kunai from out of her pouch and licked its edge. Afterward she smiled prettily and sauntered over to the box.
The announcer came back on and said, "Rounding out team ten is the gorgeous and brilliant Ino Yamanaka!" She also had some fan boys but not as many hanging over the stands hoping she would notice them. The woman walked out of the tunnel as though she owned the world. Smiling and waving in a royal fashion as she entered the awaiting box.
Once the cheering had quelled the announcer came back, "The final team we have to introduce is TEAM EIGHT!" Upon hearing this cheering broke out as the video clip started. Dramatic music began to play and three darkened and imposing figures were shown. Suddenly the symbol of leaf appeared and began to spin and changed into the Hyuga flame. Out of one side of the flame sprouted a dog which seemed to be leaping out of the television. On the other side a fox appeared as it majestically looked out of frame but had a small smirk playing on it lips. In the center of the Hyuga flame the dog's and foxes's tails intertwined. The vulpine shuddered at what it implied but kept their repulsion to themselves. Ishikawa who watched on thought, 'I agree with Naruto on this, the Vulpine have to get over this feud with the Canis clan.' While on the other hand Takahashi trembled with anger and he raged in his mind, 'What will this filthily half-breed have us do?" as he looked at the picture.
Other non-vulpine bystanders either liked it, did know what to think or were angry with the imagery of a fox. Most from out of town though erupted in applause and rabid excitement. This team seemed interesting, a Hyuga and two very skilled looking summoners or trainers on a team. One was from a prestigious clan which was heard of in most shinobi villages; the Inuzuka. The other had not been heard of in three years but last time in this exam he caused an upset defeating Neji Hyuga before the invasion took place.
The video continued, the music changed to "Lithium Flower" by Yoko Kanno and the image of a formidable Hinata appeared with her eyes blazing and her open hand punching through the background paper to the foreground to make the appearance she made a hole to allow the audience to see her.
Then the music changed once more to "Who let the dogs out?" by the Bajamen as a picture of an enthusiastic Kiba and Akamaru seemed to be jumping out of the hole that had been made by Hinata. The most of the crowed cheered loudly but many in the crowd shook their heads at how cliché the song was.
Finally the song changed again, and "Until the End" by Breaking Benjamin reverberated through the stadium. An image of Naruto giving his signature grin and thumbs up sign appeared in the hole on the screen and a fox's image looming behind him. As his name lit up, among the cheering and scattered booing, murmurs broke throughout the stadium. Some were due to confusion for his name change or the fox images, a small number in pride, others were of excitement, some fearful and finally several of these murmurs were from disgust.
The video ended in a crescendo of music and a picture of all three back to back was displayed. Once the video was done running, the announcer came back on. "Alright, coming into the arena is the top dog; Kiba Inuzuka!" The crowd erupted in screams of joy and encouragement for the man.
Kiba strode out atop his dog waving merrily and sometimes pumping his fists to show his fighting sprit. After basking in the limelight and blowing a few kisses to girls, he and his dog walked into the box with a smirk on his face.
"Next we have the clan of legend, Hinata Hyuga!" screamed the voice rallying the crowd.
In the tunnel Hinata sighed and thought depressed, 'Is that all they see when they look at me? Is all they see is a Hyuga?' Thinking of Naruto and their recent chat a determined face was fixed and she thought, 'I'll show them the real me! Just like Naruto-kun said!'
She ran out onto the field and waved politely to the fans and then smiled happily as if she didn't have a care in the world. She walked calmly over to the box and went to go inside when an idea came to her. Normally she wouldn't act on it but she being more confident decided to act on it. Before going into the box she quickly spun around, pulled her eyelid down and stuck out her tongue at the crowd. Then quickly, she dodged into the box.
The stadium was shocked; they had never seen a member of the "proper" Hyuga act in such a childish way. To many it was refreshing and caused a resurgence in the frenzied crowd.
After the crowd had calmed a little the announcer came back, "And finally, here's a mouthful! Naruto Uzumaki of the Vulpine!"
As the crowd began its mixed reaction they were silenced by a spectacle that had even the most hardened shinobi in awe. In coordination, pyres of different colored fire appeared, forming two lines of thirteen men and women on each side. Two flag bearers appeared in the front with the vulpine crest emblazoned upon them. Suddenly in the line every odd person drew their swords to form a walkway under their swords. Normally they would have used their tails but due to the circumstances they chose to make do with swords. Then the even numbered vulpine rose their imperial trumpets to their mouths and began to play.
In the back of the line another pyre appeared when the trumpeting began to reveal a briefly annoyed and then regal looking Naruto. He began he walk under the swords full of embarrassment and doing his best to hide it. He did it well because he looked very dignified and carried an aura of power as he walked. As he went under each pair of swords the guards would lower them and give him a salute. At the end of the walk the flag bearers moved out the way. The blonde man, looked toward the kages and gave a bow and turned toward where the council were seated and paid them the same homage. Then with a patented smirk, he waved to the silent and awed crowd joyfully. He then left to the box and his entourage disappeared in a flash of fire.
Once he was out of view the crowd began to murmur with awe and wonder and, in some places, fear. Both the kages looked at each other with mystified faces. Tsunade finally said in awe, "He sure does know how to make an entrance."
Gaara nodded and gave her one of his rare laughs, "That he does…"
Then after a moment Tsunade rose and clapped her hands bringing the arena to silence. "I would like to wish everyone here, "Welcome to our village and the chuunin exams." Those who traveled I hope you had a safe journey and I hope you enjoy your stay here. But we are not here for pleasantries, we are here for one reason and that is those special ninja who have demonstrated they may have the skills deemed good enough to become chuunin. They are the cream of the crop and I am proud of all of them. On this stage they will have to clear the final hurdle to become great shinobi. Before your eyes their futures will be written. And now to explain this final task, it is going to be a cross between round-robin and a free-for-all tournament. A random number generator will determine the matches and a contestant is allowed to lose one match allowing them to demonstrate their abilities to a better extent. There will be two matches for the competitors every day except for those lucky enough to get a bye. This will continue until we have a winner."
The crowd murmured in agreement for the new rules and some clapped happily. "Also," Tsunade said gleefully, "For our referee the legendary sennin Jiraiya!" At hearing this Naruto sweat dropped as the male and shinobi portion of the stadium began to go wild. "Now without any further ado, start the examination!"
The big screen went dark as names furiously flashed until the first name stopped showing the first competitor; Hachiro Yukie – Stone. Naruto's heart was in his throat as he watched patiently for the next name to be chosen. Then it appeared; "Naruto Uzumaki of the vulpine" scrunched on the other side.
He let out a nervous sigh and said to the box as a whole, "right out of the blocks ,eh? Awesome!"
"Good luck fox boy!" Kiba called.
"What? Wishing me luck" he asked sarcastically.
"Don't dwell too much on it, it's just that I wanna be the guy to take you out!" smirked the dog user.
"We're rooting for ya'" called Ino pointing to her nodding teammates.
"Thanks" the blond man said embarrassedly scratching the back of his neck.
Then surprising him from his right was the soft and kind voice, "I believe in you Naruto."
He turned toward the warm voice and inwardly gasped when he saw those distinct eyes. Blushing the girl was smiling at him and he just smiled stupidly back.
His heart warmed as his confidence grew and he said warmly, "I'll remember that, thank you!" Finally he turned and left for the arena to face his fate and a battle for the recognition he always wanted.
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Hey,
In response for my 200th review I started this early and made this the longest chapter of the story. As you can see I finally got to the chuunin exams which I promised awhile back. If you don't know the songs I used in this chapter don't worry they were only there for add enjoyment if you knew them. I hope you have enjoyed this so far and as always; Read and Review: Please be kind.
Joe
Ich werde Sie später sehen!