Konoha's Hidden Dragon Clan

by Aninene the Fox Demon

What would have happened if Konoha's most elite Ninja force, The Dragon Clan, got involved in the events of Naruto. The tale begins at the start of the anime. NarutoxOC WARNING: First four chapters contain strong cannon!

11. Window to a Troubled Past!

Window to a Troubled Past!

Reaching for the Grand Line!

Naruto arrived at the hospital shortly after escaping the Forest of Death. Most of the nurses and doctors were giving him surprised looks or worried frowns. The blond couldn't blame them, his clothes were rather filthy and he looked like the survivor of a war zone. This wasn't too far off from the truth giving what he went thru in the preliminary matches. A little self consciously, he approached a cute nurse sitting at the receptions desk.

"Excuse me Miss, where can I find Sasuke's room?" asked Naruto politely.

The nurse checked a listing of records attached to a clipboard. After a moment, she looked at Naruto apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-sama isn't taking visitors right now," she reported.

"What!? Why's that?" demanded Naruto, a little miffed by her use of sama at the end of Sasuke's name.

"Those are the rules," replied the nurse.

"Aw come on, lady! I really need to see someone!" complained Naruto.

A familiar voice drew his attention.

"Naruto, this is a hospital. Keep it down, knucklehead," scolded Kakashi.

"At last, Kakashi-sensei! I thought I'd run into you here! Look, I need a favor!" begun Naruto excitedly.

"Don't bother, I already know what you're going to ask. So I found someone who agreed to supervise your training," interrupted Kakashi.

"Hold on!" cried Naruto with a frown. "I wanted to ask you if I could train with Genmaru before the tournament starts!"

Kakashi seemed surprised at this revelation.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, so with your permission can I?" Naruto was practically begging.

"Alright, I have no problem with it but…"

Naruto burst into a loud storm of cheering.

"Yatai! You're the best, Sensei! I'm going to get really strong now and…" begun the blond excitedly.

"Slow your roll Naruto. You may train with Genmaru, but I also want you to work on your basic skills with the person I picked out for you," finished Kakashi with a frown.

"Oh alright, who is it?" asked the blond impatiently.

"It is I, the elite Ebisu!" came a voice Naruto dreaded to hear.

Naruto turned around to find Ebisu staring at him.

"Aw man! Why do I have to train with you, you closet pervert!?" cried Naruto in annoyance.

"How rude! I am no such thing!" snapped Ebisu.

Kakashi looked back and for between them in confusion.

"Closet pervert? Have you two met?" asked Kakashi.

"You bet we have! Geez Sensei, of all the guys you could've picked why did it have to be him!? He's weaker than me!" protested Naruto.

"You don't say," said Kakashi disbelievingly.

"I'm serious Sensei, you should've seen him! He saw my Harem technique once and he fell to pieces! We were in the forest and…"

Ebisu silenced the blond by clamping his hand over his mouth. Naruto struggled to free himself while glaring bloody murder at his captor.

"Huh, Harem technique?" grunted Kakashi.

"It's nothing at all Kakashi-san, just a little joke we share!" lied Ebisu with a sweat drop.

He then whispered in Naruto's ear.

"Listen kid, keep quite about that and I'll buy you anything you want to eat," bribed the older ninja.

"Fine," replied Naruto with a glare.

Ebisu released him and begun patting him on his head like they were best buddies. Naruto just crossed his arms as if he would rather be anywhere than here.

"I don't know what the story is between you guys but I leave Naruto to you, Ebisu," said Kakashi.

"Right, I'll do what I can!" assured Ebisu before Kakashi walked away.

"Why did it have to be you?" grumbled the blond once Kakashi was gone.

Ebisu took offence.

"You brat, do you think I want to train you?! If it weren't for the fact that Kakashi asked me to do it, I would've turned the offer down!"

"That sounds great to me!" shot back Naruto.

Ebisu sighed.

"I'm not here to argue with you, Naruto. Let's get this over with so I'll never have to look at you again," muttered Ebisu warily.

"Yeah, fine," grumbled Naruto reluctantly.

---

Just as Ebisu promised, the duo found themselves at Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto immediately proceeded to order a bowl of miso ramen with barbequed pork. Ebisu ordered a club sandwich with vegetable ramen. Ayame placed the orders in front of them, and the duo dug in. Ebisu spoke after eating more than half of his sandwich.

"Okay Naruto, based on what Kakashi has told me about your abilities it seems that your weak point is chakra control," announced Ebisu.

"Chakra control? Why's that?" asked Naruto with a mouthful of ramen.

"Well, in comparison to your teammates, your abilities are pretty poor. Take Sakura for instance, when using a simple replication technique her control is fine tuned to the point were creating five replications is simple. Sasuke as well, even though his control isn't as great as Sakura's he too can spawn five replications. It's just that in his case, Sasuke would require a little more energy to achieve the same results," explained Ebisu.

"Hah, looks like Sasuke isn't so perfect after all!" said Naruto with a grin.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Your ability to manipulate chakra is terrible. If you were to attempt a replication, the most you could spawn is two," explained Ebisu.

"Hey! If I'm so bad then why can I do things that they can't!?" argued Naruto.

"It isn't the same thing, Naruto! The only reason you can use high level Jutsu like the Shadow Clone is because of the enormous energy granted to you by the Nine Tailed Fox!" snapped Ebisu.

Naruto lowered his gaze to the floor. Ebisu had struck a nerve.

"You see, although you can generate a massive level of chakra, without control you let it slip away almost as quickly as you mold it. The point I'm trying to make Naruto, is that you put forth too much chakra when trying to perform techniques. Every Jutsu has a set limit to it, that is all that it'll require for the move to execute properly," explained Ebisu a bit more calmly. "If you let me show you how, I can help you become stronger," promised Ebisu while rising from his stool.

Naruto perked up at the thought, but he recalled something that had been bothering him since his run in with Orochimaru. He didn't mention it to Kakashi, figuring it to be nothing serious. But ever since Orochimaru had put that seal on him, he hadn't felt as strong as normal. Like a part of him was missing somehow.

Ebisu pulled him from his musings by slapping a few Ryou on the counter and beckoning the blond to follow him…

---

The duo arrived at a popular ladies bathhouse not too far away from Ichiraku. Ebisu entered the building while asking Naruto to wait outside. The blond peered through the open doorway to find Ebisu talking with the manager of the place. Ebisu slipped him a few Ryou while the shop owner greedily rubbed his hands together and nodded. Ebisu then came back outside and asked Naruto to follow him to the back of the shop.

Upon arrival, Naruto took in the sight of a beautiful hot spring with a waterfall nearby. The air felt humid and relaxing even though Naruto wasn't in the water. The springs were empty of people, but Naruto heard giggling and splashing coming from behind a fence that hid the lady bathers from view. Naruto grew suspicious.

"Hey pervert, am I suppose to take a bath or something? Or did you just drag me up here so you could peep at the girls?" grumbled Naruto.

"That's enough out of you!" said Ebisu with a frown. "For your training, I'm going to teach you how to walk on water."

"Huh, really? You're not messing with me are you?" asked Naruto excitedly.

"Nope, dead serious," confirmed Ebisu. "It's not much different from the tree climbing exercise you did with Kakashi. What makes it a bit harder is that there's no solid substance for you to stand on. As a result, you'll have to maintain a constant amount of chakra from start to finish or else you'll fall in," he warned.

"Oh yeah, I remember that! I do it all the time to increase my speed!" said Naruto confidently.

"Really? Then, that makes this easy for us. Still, I'll give you a demonstration to make sure you understand what you're about to do," said Ebisu with his first approving smile for Naruto, ever.

"You remember to build up chakra into your feet and constantly focus it at that point. From there, you just adjust the amount until it's about the same in both feet. This will help you maintain your balance. After that…"

Ebisu calmly advanced at a brisk pace onto the water's surface. He even jumped a few times to show that he was in complete control.

"Easy, now you try," requested Ebisu.

Naruto did the same steps as Ebisu, although he didn't have to think about them very much. With the greatest of ease, Naruto too strode onto the water's surface. The blond placed his hand behind his head sheepishly when Ebisu gave him a round of applauds.

"Excellent! Well done, Naruto! Since you mastered this so quickly, we'll be able to move on to phase two," announced Ebisu.

"Alright! As long as I'm done before the week is up this'll be a clinch!" predicted Naruto happily.

The blond then noticed something behind Ebisu. Ebisu turned towards were Naruto was staring to find an old man peeking into the ladies bath. Ebisu smirked.

"I wouldn't do such unsightly things while I'm here. I won't allow it, old man!" declared Ebisu while rushing at the stranger.

As quick as lightening, the old guy twirled around and smirked.

"Don't be such a square!" he said while making a seal.

In a poof of smoke, a big orange and blue toad appeared beneath him. Ebisu gave a startled start. The toad's tongue then shot forward and wrapped tightly around Ebisu's waist. Ebisu barely had time to scream before he found himself sailing into the air. He landed with a splash somewhere behind the waterfall. The old guy laughed.

"Poor chap, you shouldn't interfere with my research like that!" teased the old guy.

Naruto's mouth dropped open in awe. From what he could see, the old guy had long spiky white hair that extended to his ankles. He was wearing a dark red vest over a lime green ninja costume. He had arm and leg guards that looked like nets. He had a net shirt on beneath his costume as well. The old guy's black eyes were playful, but wise as well. There was a skin colored mole on his nose and red stripes under his eyes. He grinned at Naruto's surprised look.

"Who is that? He not only sent Ebisu flying, but he's an even bigger hentai too!" thought the blond.

Just as he was debating whether all perverts seemed to be stronger than they let on, Ebisu came screaming down the waterfall. He floated in the hot springs with swirls in his eyes. Naruto sweat dropped.

"Hey, who are you, old man!?" demanded Naruto.

"How kind of you to ask! I am the Myouboku Mountain Monk of the toad sprits! Also known as the great toad hermit, Jiraiya-dono!" the old guy struck a pose.

"Toad hermit?" echoed Naruto.

"Correct!"

The toad he was riding on vanished in a poof of smoke. He landed and started dancing.

"A writer I am! The proud author of this!" the old guy produced a orange book from his vest.

"No way! You wrote Icha Icha Paradise!?" exclaimed Naruto.

"Haha, so you've heard of me! I can't say that I'm surprised," said Jiraiya with a grin.

"That's that naughty book Kakashi-sensei's always reading! Research my ass! I bet you came here to peek at the girls!" cried Naruto accusingly.

The bathing girls must've heard him, since they immediately bolted screaming from the bath.

"NOO! Look at what you did!" wailed Jiraiya with teary eyes.

"Ah quit ya bitching, you pervert!" snapped Naruto.

"Who are you calling a pervert, brat!? I'm just inspired to write better novels when I'm peeking!" shot back the old guy.

"Yeah yeah, anyway what are you going to do about my training!? Thanks to you I'm being delayed from ditching that guy already!" cried Naruto while pointing at Ebisu's submerged body.

"Hmp, I could care less about your training, brat!" spat the old guy while walking past him.

"Now just a damn minute! The least you can do is help me out with my chakra control before that guys wakes up and tell him that I'm good at it!" shouted Naruto.

"As if! I wouldn't do squat for a punk like you!" snapped Jiraiya.

"Aw come on! You would deny a big fan of your book his golden escape?" asked Naruto.

"You little liar! Anyone under the age of eighteen can't view or purchase my books," grumbled Jiraiya. "Anyway I wasted enough time with you. Later, kid."

The old guy formed a seal and vanished in a gust of wind.

"Cool! Hey old dude, you can make it up to me by showing me how to do that!" requested Naruto before dashing at high speed in the direction of Jiraiya's chakra force.

Ebisu remained forgotten in the spring water…

---

Naruto ended up following the old man's energy to the village's square. Warily he looked around for him.

"Damn him, where did that old guy get to?" grumbled the blond to himself.

A loud scream from a nearby sweet shop caught his attention.

"Don't touch my ass, you perverted old man!" cried a woman's voice.

The unmistakable sound of a slap rang out afterwards, Naruto sighed, that was his target no doubt. A flustered woman and Jiraiya himself exited the shop.

"I'm sorry, but you have some incredible things there!" complimented Jiraiya with a drool, there was a hand print on his face as well.

"Pervert!" screamed the lady before smacking his other cheek.

She then stormed away in a huff. Naruto frowned at the sight, but approached the toad hermit anyway.

"Ah, such perky young girls! It makes me want to reach into…" begun Jiraiya before a loud 'ahem' drew his attention.

"You are such a pervert you know that. Some of these girls will knock your teeth out if you keep that up," interrupted Naruto.

"Ah, it's that kid again!" cried Jiraiya in alarm.

"You got that right and I'm holding you responsible for my training, old man!" declared the blond while pointing at him.

Quickly Jiraiya seized his arm and flipped Naruto over his shoulder like a piece of trash. The blond sailed head first into a barrel. The old guy proceeded to put the lid on it and sealed it with a nearby rock.

"There, that'll hold you for a while," said Jiraiya before calmly striding away.

Naruto screamed and pounded on his container in outrage…

It was some ten minutes of nonstop hollering later before Naruto heard someone removing the stone from his confinement. The blond immediately popped out of the barrel, gasping for air.

"Damn that geezer! I'm going to kill him!" cried Naruto angrily. "Hey thanks for helping me out, buddy!" said the blond without looking at his rescuer, as he tried to climb out of the barrel.

"No problem, Naruto," replied a familiar voice.

Naruto froze and looked up with a embarrassed grin.

"Hey Genmaru. Um, about the barrel…I can explain," begun Naruto with a sweat drop.

"I'm not sure if I really want to know," said Genmaru with an amused smile.

The misty eyed ninja helped Naruto out of the barrel. Once freed the blond started shaking his legs to get his blood flowing again, it was cramped in there. Genmaru waited patiently for him to finish before speaking.

"I don't mean to be abrupt, but did you ask him?" asked Genmaru with a meaningful look.

"Yep, Kakashi-sensei said it was A okay! I just need to do some basic training first and I'm home free," replied Naruto before giving a start. "Ah, he's getting away! Look I've got to run, were should I meet you when we start training?"

"Just meet me at training field number eight, six days from today. Think you'll have your basic training exercises done by then?" asked Genmaru.

"No problem. See you in a week!" cried Naruto over his shoulder as he took off running in the direction of Jiraiya's chakra force…

---

Naruto stumbled across the old guy in the forest. He was taking a smoke from his pipe with his eyes closed. His back was resting against the trunk of a toppled tree. A glint appeared in the Naruto's eyes and he ducked behind some bushes.

"It's payback time, old man. I'm going to find out how strong you really are," mused Naruto while producing a pair of shuriken.

The blond hurled them at the old guy. His eyes snapped open and he effortlessly pulled off a somersault to cover behind the tree he was leaning against. In a flash of speed, Naruto appeared standing on top of that same tree with a kunai ready for action. He was stunned to find a statue of a monkey in the old guy's place.

"Kawarimi eh? Not bad old man! But I'll get you yet, then you'll have to train me!" declared Naruto before taking off into the woods in search of him.

Once Naruto was gone, the statue went up in smoke to become Jiraiya again. The blond had been tricked!

"Heh, foolish brat. You'll need a million years of training before you can fight me," said Jiraiya to himself with a relieved sigh.

"You sure about that?" came Naruto's voice from behind him.

Jiraiya turned around to find the blond glaring right at him. He sighed.

"Alright alright! Sit down with me, let's talk!" pleaded the old guy while raising his hands in surrender.

The blond took him up on his offer and waited patiently for him to say something. After taking a few drags on his pipe, Jiraiya looked at the kid.

"You have a good deal of potential. You move very well for someone wearing arm weights," commented the old guy.

"Yep, so are you going to train me or not?" asked Naruto without beating around the bushes.

"Only if you do something for me first," replied the old guy. "Bring me a curvy 'fruit' that has matured nicely, if you catch my drift."

"Perfect, I saw some of those on the way here. I'll be back in two minutes okay? Wait here," instructed the blond before dashing off towards the village.

The old guy took another drag on his pipe and was just about to sit down when he caught movement out the corner of his eye. Two very well proportioned babes where taking a stroll through the woods. Jiraiya grinned, the big bad wolf was on the prowl!

"Sorry kid, I didn't promise that I would wait," said the perverted hermit before chasing after the girls.

---

Naruto found the old guy hanging out at a tea shop. He was entertaining two pretty girls with stories he had heard.

"You old geezer! I told you to wait for me in the forest!" yelled the blond.

"Oh great…what is it, kid?" grumbled Jiraiya once Naruto came to a stop.

"Here's the thing you wanted. Now train me!" demanded Naruto while holding out a curvy and mature watermelon.

The old guy slapped his forehead.

"You nitwit! That wasn't what I meant!" he cried before throwing the melon into the air.

With the greatest of ease, he sliced the fruit into a healthy snack using a kunai. The pieces landed neatly on the table he was sitting at. Naruto and the girls gave a round of applauds. They then dug into the treat…

Sometime later the girls excused themselves to the bathroom, leaving Naruto and the old guy alone. Naruto gave him a meaningful look.

"What did you have planned for my training?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Nothing, that's what!" snapped Jiraiya.

"Hello, we had a deal remember!?" reminded Naruto.

"You dork! I wanted hot women like the ones you saw!"

"Oh, is that all? Why didn't you say so earlier?" asked Naruto before getting up and forming a seal. "Henge!"

Naruto went up in a poof of smoke. It cleared to reveal him as his perky female counterpart. Much to the old guy's pleasure, everything was visible this time.

"Oh my god!" cried Jiraiya while ogling every square inch of Naruto.

"Please don't stare so much, sir. I'm getting so embarrassed," moaned Naruto seductively while smiling shyly.

The old guy flashed the thumbs up.

"Hell yeah! Ten out of ten!" cried Jiraiya. "You're just what I've been looking for! What do you call this technique?"

Naruto sweat dropped at the way he was looking at him. The blonde had a feeling that this guy wanted to gobble him up.

"Oiroke no Jutsu, sir. Do you like what you see?" asked Naruto seductively.

"Do I ever!" cried Jiraiya with a drool. "You're brilliant!"

"Then, will you supervise my training?" asked Naruto with starry eyed cuteness.

"Yes yes yes! I have only one condition," replied Jiraiya excitedly.

"Condition? What kind of condition?" asked Naruto sadly while gently sucking on his fingertip.

The perverted hermit got a nose bleed and starting twiddling his fingers excitedly.

"You must stay in that form whenever you are around me," he requested.

Naruto felt a vein throb in his temple. He then went up into a poof of smoke and glared at the old man in his regular form.

"You are one big ass pervert, you know that!?" shouted Naruto in irritation.

"Shut up! I'm no ordinary pervert!" shot back Jiraiya before grinning like a maniac. "I'm a super pervert!" he declared with a laugh.

Naruto trembled in defeat.

"Darn him…he openly admitted it."

---

Naruto and the old guy went to Naruto's makeshift training area. The blond stared at him expectantly.

"Let's see, you already can climb trees and walk on water right? Then the only chakra control exercise that's left for you is the balance training," said the old man.

"Balance training?" asked the blond.

"That's right, out of the three chakra control exercises this is the most difficult. What I want you to do, is try to focus as little chakra as possible into your fingertip and balance on it for a least one hour," requested Jiraiya.

"Is that physically possible?" asked the blond in awe.

"Of course it is. You can walk on water can't you?" replied Jiraiya as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Okay, now the exercise is impossible to do if you focus too much chakra. You'll get launched into the air every single time. That's why only really small amounts are required. If you're ready to start, I'll demonstrate."

Naruto gave the go ahead.

"Okay, I'll use this rock as a base. First gather chakra directly to the tip of your finger. From there, collaborate it until only a bare minimum is noticeable. You should feel a slight tingling sensation, if you do then you have the correct amount. After that…"

Jiraiya easily supported his entire body weight directly on his index finger alone! Naruto's eyes grew as big as saucers. The old guy smirked at the sight and flipped back onto his feet after a minute had passed.

"If you can handle that for one hour, then you have gained mastery of chakra control," declared the hermit.

"Okay! I'll give it a shot!" said Naruto.

The blond closed his eyes and gathered chakra into his fingertip. Just as the old guy promised, a slight tingling overtook his finger. The blond opened his eyes and placed his finger on top of the rock. He then attempted to center his weight on his finger, only to fall flat on his back. Jiraiya started laughing his head off at the sight of the stupefied blond.

"Damn it!" hissed Naruto while rolling over and rising to try again.

"That was funny, kid! Land on your head next time!" teased the old guy.

"Aw, shut up, old man! I just had a setback!" tenuously justified Naruto in embarrassment.

The blond took off his jacket and attempted to try again.

"Hey, hold on a second, kid. You won't be able to properly control your chakra like that! Come here for a second," requested the hermit.

Naruto grumbled a bit, but he did as requested.

"Okay, lift up your shirt and mold some chakra for me."

Naruto frowned in confusion, but did as requested. Little did Naruto know, Jiraiya was staring at his stomach expectantly. Just as it did in the Forest of Death, the seal on Naruto's stomach became visible. The old guy narrowed his eyes.

"So this is how the fox was sealed away. Since it's a four season type seal, it'll allow the kid to access the Nine Tail's chakra. But what's this?"

The old guy frowned at the seal Orochimaru had inflicted.

"A five element seal has been placed over it. Since one is an even numbered seal and the other is odd, the Nine Tail's chakra has been blocked completely. Without it, even if the kid learns to control his own chakra it won't do him much good if he can't control the fox's chakra with it. Their chakras naturally mix at all time, it wouldn't surprise me if the kid felt weaker than normal right now," observed the old guy.

Jiraiya rose to his full height and cracked his knuckles.

"Judging by how rare this seal is, I'm betting that Orochimaru did it. Still alive eh, old boy?"

Jiraiya reared back his hand. Tiny blue flames appeared on his fingertips. Quickly, he thrust his hand at the same nerves Orochimaru struck.

"Gogyo Kaiin!" cried the old guy.

Naruto's stomach erupted into extreme pain as his nerves once again started burning. However, unlike the constant pain that knocked him out when Orochimaru did his seal, this pain passed pretty quickly. Naruto's stomach still hurt like hell though. The old guy smirked when the symbols from Orochimaru's seal vanished completely. Naruto's shirt then fell down hiding the regular seal from view.

"Damn it! Why did you do that!?" groaned Naruto painfully.

"Ah lighten up kid, it was just a tap to toughen you up! Take a break for a moment and try again okay?" requested the old guy with a wink. "Thanks to the Five Element Unseal technique your regular chakra should restore to full in a few minutes."

Naruto grumpily did as asked, but something felt different. He couldn't place his finger on it, but Naruto was certain that something familiar had came back to him…

---

Domino skidded to halt after being knocked back by Sagitario. She sank to her knees and started breathing heavily. As part of her training, Sagitario had asked Gai to assist in developing Domino's Taijutsu skills. The results was an explosive two on one match that Domino was losing very badly. Domino preferred it that way, it was a constant remainder to her that she wasn't invincible. It also enabled her to prepare for two different methods of attacks at the same time.

Sagitario would stick to using mostly Ninjutsu and the occasional high speed uppercut when it looked like Domino's guard was down. Gai on the other hand was constantly keeping her on her toes with in your face Taijutsu moves. One thing for certain, they were giving the lavender eyed girl quite a workout. Domino smirked before becoming enveloped in an aura of chakra. She then stood up as the earth rose up to form her stone combat suit.

"That'll do it, for the warm up!" said Domino as her wings sprouted from her back…

---

Naruto resumed the balance training with total determination. Just as he had been instructed by the perverted hermit, Naruto gathered chakra into his finger until he felt the tingle. He then tried to center his weight on his index finger alone. All seemed well for the first ten seconds, then his chakra suddenly surged launching him nine feet into air. The blond cried out in alarm before pulling off a summersault to safety.

"Darn it, what happened?" Naruto hissed.

"That would be a discharge release," replied Jiraiya.

"Discharge release?" echoed the blond.

"Yes, the body will forcefully expel chakra from the area were the concentration is smallest. This occurs every ten seconds respectively. Hence the point of this exercise. Your goal will be to redirect the discharge to a different area of your body without losing concentration, in the slightest, on the minimum amount of chakra gathered in your finger," explained Jiraiya.

"How do I do something like that?" asked the blond.

"Well ordinarily these discharges only occur once every twenty minutes. However, the fact that you have two chakras makes this process more frequent. To counter it, you must suppress it as much as possible. The weights you wear help somewhat with this," hinted Jiraiya.

"I see," said Naruto before wordlessly gathering and securing two particularly large stones to his legs.

It was fortunate that he had brought some thick cables with him that day. So with a little help from Jiraiya, securing them was a simple chore. He then proceeded to attempt the balance exercise once more…

---

The sun was beginning to set by the time Naruto had gotten the hang of the chakra discharge. Other than being launched into the air seven more times, which each failed attempt lasting longer than the last, Naruto had done it. He only needed to last for one more minute to have gained mastery of his chakra control.

His body was completely drenched in sweat and he had to shake his head several times to keep the salty fluid out of his eyes. Naruto's teeth were gritted due to the feel of the weight on his finger. The chakra had keep most of the pain at bay, but as he neared the goal his finger was beginning to hurt. Regardless of all the distractions, Naruto's mind remained completely focused on only two things. Maintaining the chakra in his finger and the nearing discharge release.

"Eight…nine…ten…now!" thought Naruto before closing his eyes.

Naruto extended his free hand straight out to the side and then, without losing focus on his chakra, redirected the discharge to that hand instead. Naruto slowly exhaled and opened his eyes. Just two more discharges to go and he was clear.

Jiraiya smirked once Naruto finished off the last twenty seconds. Naruto flipped gracefully onto his feet and cheered.

"Looks like now is a good time to teach him how to control the Nine Tail's chakra," thought Jiraiya. "Nice work kid, now come here for a minute."

The blond did so with a huge grin on his face.

"Since you did so well and worked really hard these past few hours, I'm going to show you a technique that I have in store for you," declared the old guy.

"Yeah! What is it!?" asked Naruto while bouncing with excitement.

"Now now, there's something you should know first. You may not realize it, but you have two types of chakra."

"Two types?" echoed Naruto.

"Yes, have you ever felt any special kind of chakra in you before?"

"Hm, come to think of it there was this one time in Wave when chakra was gushing out of me. I felt really really strong at that time too. I don't remember it too well, but it was completely different from my usual chakra," reminisced the blond.

"Go on," pressed the old man.

"Well, If I compared it to a color mine would be blue but that one would be red," described Naruto.

"Interesting. Tell you what kid, we'll begin learning your new technique tomorrow. In the meantime, what say you to a hot spring bath tonight?" asked the old guy.

"Sure, that'll be great!" agreed Naruto happily.

With that, the two headed for the nearest bathhouse…

---

"Ah, this feels nice…" sighed Naruto as he soaked in the hot water.

The open sky was filled with stars as nightfall fell. Jiraiya drained a cup of sake with a satisfied ah.

"Drinking after training always tastes great! One day you'll get to experience it, young lad," said the old guy.

"I'm not sure about the drinking. But out of curiosity, what is this special move you're going to teach me like?" asked the blond.

"You'll find out tomorrow, but know this. All of your chakra control will be pushed to the limit," replied the hermit.

Naruto nodded in understanding and turned his attention to the old guy's toad familiar. It shot a spray of water into the air. Oddly enough, the sight was really beautiful as the water seemed to dance with the stars.

"We'll be bathing with a cooked toad if he stays in too much longer!" joked Jiraiya.

He and Naruto both laughed. Life was good…

---

The old guy was keeping watch over his new found student as he slept. It was hard not to grow attached to the kid. Jiraiya stiffened when he sensed a presence in front of him. Ebisu strode forward and leaned next to him on the handrails.

"Sorry, Ebisu. Looks like I stole one of your students," jested Jiraiya with a wink.

"It's okay. But I am surprised to see you here. You know, Hokage-sama has been looking for you," said Ebisu quietly.

"Did you tell the Third about me?" asked Jiraiya while glancing out the corner of his eye.

"Not yet," replied Ebisu.

"Good. Leave it that way," said the old guy quietly.

"The reason you came back. Is it because of Orochimaru?" asked Ebisu.

"Not really. I only came here to get some ideas for my novel. I have no intention of getting too involved in something so troublesome," replied the hermit.

"Please, think of what you're saying! To stop Orochimaru, only one of the Legendary Sannins can fight him! The Dragon Clan is doing what they can, but they aren't able to get involved due to how little information we have to go on! Only you can really act right now, surely you've heard something about Orochimaru's activities!?"

"I can't say that I have. Sorry sport, but I don't know anything more than you about Orochimaru," replied Jiraiya seriously.

"I understand," said Ebisu before straightening up and walking to the stairs.

Ebisu paused and glanced over his shoulder at Jiraiya, now in a state of deep thought.

"Jiraiya-sama…I still have faith in you."

With that, Ebisu descended the stairs. Jiraiya returned his gaze to Naruto's sleeping figure…

---

The moonlight lit up the vast expanse of the wonderful ocean. Elaine sighed contently at the feel of the waves rolling over her bare feet. The fresh smell of the sea was comforting to her body, allowing it to stay relaxed. The advantage of living in Fire Country was that the beaches were never more than an hour's walk away from the village. She was glad that she had chosen this place to train.

"Training…that's right, I have to get stronger before the main matches start," mused Elaine while inhaling a wonderful breeze that had picked up with her eyes closed.

Once it passed, Elaine withdrew a shiny object from inside her shirt. She started at it fondly before gently pressing it to her heart and closing her eyes as if in prayer. Slowly the object begun to glow a brilliant shade of green. From a bystander's point of view, it looked like a vapor of mist was swirling around Elaine's body…

---

It was bright the next morning when Naruto once again met up with Jiraiya for training. This time, Jiraiya chose the training ground. It was conviently situated behind some scrubs near an all ladies hotel, next to its' private waterfall. Jiraiya drooled as a trio of perky women came out to frolic in the water wearing sexy bikinis.

"Very nice!" murmured Jiraiya with a perverted laugh.

"Dude, can't you admire them later?! I'm trying to train here!" grumbled Naruto with a frown of annoyance.

"Aw pipe down, kid. They look like they're enjoying themselves!" the old guy blushed as the girls splashed each other.

"Dude!!" cried Naruto a bit louder.

Jiraiya ignored him and gasped in excitement. The girl wearing the white bikini was just wet enough for him to see a pair of…

A pair of soft and elegant hands blocked his eyes from view.

"Please look at me, Jiraiya-sama. If you help me with my training, I'll do something really nice for you," moaned the seductive voice of Naruto's sexy transformation.

Just as expected the pervert grew flushed with excitement.

"At last you're here! I've been waiting for you, my sweet!" cried Jiraiya before prying Naruto's hands away and spinning around.

He was too late however, Naruto had already reverted back to his normal form. The blond was tapping his foot impatiently with his arms folded.

"Well it's about time! Let's get started already!" demanded Naruto with a frown.

"Aw poo, no fair! I don't even get a peek?" begged Jiraiya.

"Hell no! Training comes first, pervert!" shot down Naruto.

The frolicking girls had left too. With a sigh of defeat, Jiraiya sat moodily in front of the blond.

"Okay okay, let's get started. First, do you remember the conversation we had yesterday about the two kinds of chakra?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Naruto curiously.

"You said that your power was greatest when using red chakra right? For this technique to work effectively, I need you to be able to tap into that chakra at will."

"Well, okay but I don't think I can right now," said Naruto thoughtfully. "But I'll try."

The blond closed his eyes and clenched his fists by his side. Almost instantly, a huge aura of blue chakra erupted forth. Jiraiya literally had to lean against the outward force to avoid being blown over. Compared to before, Naruto's power seemed to have risen dramatically!

"Excellent! Restoring the seal back to normal released the kid's dormant power. But the chakra he's using still doesn't seem strong enough. He has to learn how to bring forth the fox's chakra," thought Jiraiya with a smirk. "Okay, you can stop now, kid," ordered Jiraiya.

The blond did so and opened his eyes while exhaling. The force he felt was incredible, whatever the hermit did to him had made him stronger than ever.

"That was a impressive display of power kid, but it wasn't the chakra I was looking for. Tell me, have you had chakra build up training before?" asked Jiraiya.

"Yep, that's why I'm wearing the weights!" replied the blond with a grin. "But out of curiously, how are the technique you're going to teach me and the red chakra related?"

"Okay, listen up. The move I'm going to teach you, is one of several that require massive amounts of chakra to execute to its' fullest potential. Although your current chakra isn't that far off, it still isn't quite strong enough. That's why for now, we must use the red chakra instead," explained Jiraiya. "One other thing to note is that the red chakra is one of your strongest weapons, even outside of this technique. Now that you know how to control your chakra, we need you to be able to use it for power techniques."

"I see," said Naruto thoughtfully.

"Good, now prepare yourself. The technique I'm going to teach you is the Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto's eyes widened in glee.

"You mean, I'll be able to summon animals and weapons?! Cool, let's start!" cried Naruto excitedly.

"Sure but first I need you to use up all of your normal chakra. That way, you'll only be able to call on the red chakra for the summoning," instructed Jiraiya.

"Yeah, you got it!" consented Naruto before forming a seal. "Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The clearing filled with over fifty Narutos. Jiraiya grinned.

"The Shadow Clones eh? To be able to use it at such a young age is impressive, but not surprising coming from you, Naruto," mused the old man.

One Naruto spun around and backed away from the others. This was obviously the real one.

"Listen up, guys! I want all of you to attack me at the same time! This way, not only will my Taijutsu skills improve, but we'll get rid of all of this chakra as well!" ordered the original. "So we'll be able to tell each other apart, I won't wear my jacket!"

"Okay, let's do it!" agreed all of the clones before surrounding the original and dropping into various combat poses.

The real Naruto smiled confidently and removed his jacket. Once done, he tossed it into the winds. The moment it hit the ground, the clearing filled to the point of blinding with the auras of over fifty Narutos. Rocks fragments rose into the air as all fifty Narutos rushed the original at once…

---

Everything looked hazy as his eyes slowly opened. It was strange, his body felt weak but there was no pain. He did took note of the constant beeping coming from some machine next to him. It was a heart-respiratory monitor. Next to that was a long metal pole with a bag of some clear liquid dangling from it. A long tube extended from the bag to a vein in his arm. The name on the medicine bag read Uchiha Sasuke.

"How long was I sleeping?" wondered Sasuke warily.

His eyes begun to close and tiredness almost claimed him again until he jerked upright with a start.

"The Chuunin exam, and the sealing Jutsu Kakashi performed!"

Out of habit he grasped the site of the Cursed Seal, but there was no pain. Not even so much as minor burning sensation hinted that the seal was even active. Just to make sure, Sasuke tried reaching the creature with his mind. Each time he tried, it would never respond. Sasuke felt relieved yet oddly saddened by the lost. He didn't dwell on it very long though.

Unceremoniously, Sasuke yanked the tube free of his arm. He then pulled aside the sheets covering him and let his legs dangle on the side of the bed. He sat like this and begun to take in the rest of the room. It wasn't very big, and the walls were white enough to nearly blind his still adjusting eyes. Other than the medical equipment, only a small desk, a stool and a wooden closet was present. The were two rows of curtain less windows that let the brightening rays of the afternoon sun filter into the room. A sliding metal door was the only entrance.

Sasuke sighed and reached out with his senses. From what he could tell, there were a lot of people wondering the halls. No doubt most of them were doctors and nurses. As Sasuke didn't plan on spending another moment confined in this room, he knew that walking out the front door wasn't an option. As quietly as possible, he stood up on limbs that seemed a little reluctant to support his weight. Using the walls for support, Sasuke made his way to the closet and opened it.

Thankfully his regular clothes were inside. It would've been embarrassing to have to walk around in a hospital gown that showed off his boxers from behind. He quickly dressed and moved to the windows. Sasuke thanked his lucky stars upon finding that he could open them. Better yet was that his room was on the first floor of the building. Without a second thought, Sasuke climbed out of the window to freedom…

"Getting some fresh air, Sasuke-kun?" asked a voice the minute Sasuke's feet touched the grass.

"Something like that. Are you going to tell…Sagitario-sensei?" asked Sasuke without turning around.

"No, Sasuke-kun. Frankly I didn't see anything at all," replied Sagitario.

Sasuke knew that the green haired ninja was smiling, he could hear it.

"Where is…?" begun Sasuke.

"Kakashi? Well, I've been asked to pass a message along to you when you woke up. He was very perceptive in assuming that you would try to sneak out," cut in Sagitario humorously.

Sasuke turned towards him and stared in a way that said 'well?'

"Kakashi is going to train you for the upcoming Chuunin tournament, a little less than two months from now. He asks that you meet him atop the Canyon of Death. I've already secured you permission to venture outside of the village. Kakashi will be arriving there today in about two hours so you've best hurry if you want to catch him," briefed Sagitario before handing Sasuke a gate pass, a full water bottle and some dried fruits.

Sasuke took them gratefully and smirked. Looked like he had advanced to the final stage after all. He couldn't wait to get started…

---

Naruto tensed as four of his clones surrounded him on all sides. Naruto's head was a blur as he bobbed and weaved to avoid four pairs of high speed fists. Unexpectedly, Naruto ducked and swept all eight of his assailants legs from under them. He then took to the air only to be caught in a flying tackle by another clone. The two hit the ground with Naruto landing on his back. He quickly used his feet to launch his captor into another clone that was standing behind him. They went up in smoke.

Naruto kicked up and immediately lashed out at a waiting clone. It caught Naruto's fist and tried to flip him onto his back. Naruto pulled a Genmaru and reversed the move back onto the clone, it went up into smoke. Naruto felt one of the clones latch onto his back from behind, four more were approaching to dish out some pain. Action on instinct, Naruto let his captor hold the majority of his weight while he lashed out catching two of the clones in the chest with his feet. Naruto then using his added momentum, flung his captor over his shoulder into the other two clones. All five of them went up in smoke.

Another clone appeared in a burst of speed and axe kicked Naruto into the air. Two more appeared above him and hurled a swarm of shuriken at him. Unable to defending himself in midair, Naruto crossed his arms in front of his face. The pain was intense, but not fatal. Once the wave passed, Naruto countered with a pair of his own kunai at the crafty clones. They went up in smoke.

Naruto then focused on the forty other clones waiting for a chance to strike. Naruto grinned and formed a prayer seal.

"Boom."

The clone that had kicked him earlier detonated thanks to the exploding note Naruto had planted on his leg. With him went fifteen more clones for a total of sixteen. Now that the blond had a safe spot to land, he hurled a few smoke pellets at that spot to further confuse the clones. Naruto then vanished into the smoke veil. Unwilling to risk getting sneak attacked, the remaining clones took to the air and hurled several dozen waves of kunai at the smoke covered area. They all landed around the impact point and waited to see what became of Naruto.

When the smoke cleared, only a knife covered log was visible. Naruto had used the Kawarimi to escape! All of the clones begun to warily seek out their creator. It didn't help matters that the real Naruto had suppressed his chakra, hiding his aura from view. The element of surprise Naruto had gained was proving to be quite deadly for the vulnerable clones.

Some scrubs begun to rustle at that moment. Quickly, all of the clones readied some kunai for an all out assault. They weren't prepared for the person who emerged from them.

"There you are! I've been searching everywhere for you, Naruto!" said Sakura with a frown on her face.

The clones instantly went goo-goo gaga over her arrival. Four of them excitedly ran to see what she wanted. They were no more than fifteen paces away from her when another exploding note went off. It had been a concealed trap. By covering one with some leaves, a handy landmine had been formed! The four clones went flying before going up in smoke. Sakura then transformed into Naruto!

"Hah, you fell for it!" he teased the remaining twenty-two clones.

The fuming clones proceeded to hurl their readied kunai at the laughing blond. Naruto quickly withdrew and wrapped himself in his camouflaged covering. The flying knives sailed harmlessly through the spot the now invisible Naruto had been standing. Once more, Naruto had the element of total surprise. So intent were the clones on their surrounding, that they never noticed Naruto removing his veil directly in the mist of them!

Naruto sweep the leg of one clone and seized it in midair. He then went into a stumbling, spinning dance using his snared prey as a battering ram. Seven more clones were dispelled, including his makeshift weapon, before the other clones wised up to Naruto's presence. One clone rushed Naruto with a haymaker that definitely would've knocked him out if he hadn't leaned back into a roll. Naruto then boosted off with his arms to score a strong exploder into the chest of a clone that had been behind him. Naruto rebounded off of that clone into a quick forward flip that ended in a very Sasuke like heel kick onto the head of the clone Naruto knew was going to attack him beforehand. They both went up in smoke.

Naruto straightened up and looked around. He still had eleven more clones to defeat and none of them were going to make it easy for him. What's worst was that his aura was starting to flicker, the dangerous sign of nearly depleted chakra. If that happened, then the only way to win this battle would be to take a sever pounding and strike whenever and opening presented itself. Naruto wasn't going to let that happen.

He grimaced as another clone appeared in a flash for a power punch. Naruto jumped forward and thrust, catching the clone's fist. Thanks to the force of Naruto's forward lunge, he was able to pull the clone down onto its' neck causing it to go up in smoke. Naruto only just rose to his full height before feeling the fury of eight high speed punches to the face and body. The blond staggered tiredly backwards into the arms of a waiting clone. Before the clone could get a solid grip, Naruto raised his arms and slipped through its' grasp like water. Naruto was a blur as he whipped around and rammed his elbow into his would be captor's cheek. He went up in smoke.

Naruto stiffened as a clone rushed him from the front and from behind. Quickly Naruto kneeled and put to practice his chakra control. He was launched several feet into the air out of harm's way. Two more clones high jumped after him with their fists reared back. Naruto reached into his rear pant pocket and in a fluid move, hurled two pairs of kunai with ultra thin wires attached to them. The results were both clones getting cut in two by the almost blade like wire weapons. They went up in smoke.

Naruto landed and immediately attempted high speed movement. Instead, he sank to one knee while breathing heavily. Naruto ran out of chakra!

"Shoot!" thought Naruto before his legs were tackled from behind.

The blond screamed in pain as two clones appeared in a flash of speed and axe kicked him straight into the air at the same time. Naruto knew what was coming next, the clones were going to attempt his Gakeppuchi combo on him! Unwilling to go down like that, Naruto quickly hurled a kunai with an exploding note straight up to where he knew the heel kicking clone was going to show up. It fell for the counter completely and could only cry out in alarm when the note blew up in its' face.

Naruto shielded himself from the shockwave that followed the explosion. He grunted as five of the six remaining clones leaped up and seized Naruto's arms, legs, and one of them latched onto his back. The last clone then appeared in a flash of speed with its' arm reared back for the finishing blow. Naruto quickly pressed his finger tips to the clones that were holding his arms and squeezed as much chakra as he could manage into his fingers. The results were two clones being blasted away to land painfully on their backs, turning into smoke in the process. With his arms free again, Naruto caught his attacker's fist in mid-punch and bopped him one right in the nose. It went up in smoke.

Naruto grinned, although his clones were easily faster than him now. They still had the weakness of being unable to use that speed in midair. They were as vulnerable as sitting ducks rights now. Naruto made to reach into his pouch for some kunai, but the clone on his back shifted its' grip to that of a strangle hold. Unable to move his arms, the clones on his legs broke away and aimed two heavy kicks into his stomach for a boost off. Naruto cried out in pain as he was also shot higher into the air as a result.

The clone on his back then pulled backwards until Naruto was upside down. The blond gulped, he was in for a twenty-two foot drop as a result of his own Power Bomb attack. Using all the strength Naruto had in his body, he desperately snapped his arms free of the clones grasp. Quickly Naruto went into a spin and wrapped his arm around the throat of the clone. Naruto pulled cutting the clones air while at the same time digging his heels into its' back. Less than a second before impact with the ground, Naruto boosted off of the clone's back and drew a pair of kunai. The clone smashed into the earth with a boom while Naruto skidded to a halt a few feet away.

A clone appeared behind Naruto with a kunai in hand and tried to thrust it into his crouching creator's left leg. Naruto had long since sensed him and quickly lifted his leg causing the clone to miss. Naruto then smashed his raised foot onto the clone's hand and spun into a backhand. The pinned down clone went up into smoke. Naruto rose and turned to face the last clone determinedly. Both of them were breathing heavily from lack of chakra.

The clone vanished in a flash of speed to deliver an axe kick to Naruto's chin. Naruto's head snapped back from what appeared to be a successful hit. However, Naruto had really performed a backwards moon vault with his arms spread. Naruto quickly hurled his kunai at the clone before he touched down. The clone avoided them in a flash of speed. He reappeared behind Naruto with his leg raised for a overhead kick. Naruto spun around and blocked it with his forearm. He then seized the clone's leg and went into several spins. Once enough momentum had been gathered, Naruto hurled the clone into the air.

The replica quickly hurled wave after wave of kunai with exploding tags attached in retaliation. Naruto dashed as fast his legs would allow in an effort to evade the deadly counterattack. At some point, Naruto found himself heading towards a stone wall that was the support structure for the all ladies hotel. Naruto sped up and ran up the side of the wall for about nine steps before boosting off towards the still airborne clone. Naruto drew a kunai for the finishing blow. The clone seeing no way out of the situation, held up one last exploding tag in front of himself for a suicide finish.

Naruto gasped and quickly shielded as much of himself as he could before a large explosion rang out. The shockwave sent Naruto flying back into the stone wall with several burned hairs. Naruto cried out in pain before slumping warily to the floor. Naruto was battered, but for the most part he was okay. The war of the clones had been won…

---

Jiraiya grinned as the battled concluded. Although it wasn't the most graceful style the old man had ever seen, the blond was impressively skilled at making use of the environment during combat. The kid had the potential to become a real Taijutsu specialist with enough training. Calmly, he rose and strode towards Naruto's exhausted frame.

"Well done, Naruto. Looks like nearly all of your chakra is gone. We can now put the Summoning Jutsu to practice," announced Jiraiya. "When you're ready, I'll begin the demonstration."

Naruto rose tiredly to a sitting position and looked up expectantly.

"Okay, watch carefully."

Jiraiya bit his thumb until blood begun to seep out. He then rubbed some onto the palm of his hand. Once finished, he formed several seals that ended with him rearing back his blood covered palm for the finish.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he cried while slamming his palm to the ground.

The summoning seal appeared around Jiraiya and erupted into a poof of smoke. When it cleared, Jiraiya stood atop another orange and blue toad with his arms folded. Naruto's eyes twinkled in excitement as the toad extended its' tongue to present him with a giant scroll. Naruto accepted it.

"What you hold in your hands Naruto, is the contract that will enable you to summon the toad spirits to aid you. Understand that as far as animal summons go, once you sign this contract you will not be able to switch to another. If you're prepared, sign your name in your own blood and press your fingertips beneath it," instructed Jiraiya.

Naruto did as instructed after biting his thumb. The moment he completed the ritual with his fingertips, a strange sense of wisdom momentarily entered his head. The wisdom of the toads that is. It faded quickly though and Naruto was left feeling no different than before.

"Good, now using the hand you used to sign the contract mold chakra into it and place it where you want the summon to appear. The seals are boar, dog, bird, monkey and sheep. Note that after doing this just once, you only need to will the summoning to activate from then on and press your palm to the site of summoning," explained Jiraiya.

The blond closed his eyes in concentration. Almost automatically, his hands begun moving. His fists loosely pressed together forming the boar seal. His left hand then moved to cover his right forming the dog seal. He then formed a pyramid with his middle and lead fingers curled inside for bird. His hands then pressed together forming monkey. Finally came the prayer position for sheep.

Naruto felt his chakra spike forcing him to open his eyes.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" cried the blond while pressing his palm to the ground.

The summoning seal appeared around him and a cloud of smoke overtook the blond. When it cleared, Naruto was stunned to find himself sitting on his own giant toad. Sure his was less than one third the size of Jiraiya's due to how little chakra he squeezed out, but he had done it. He glanced at Jiraiya seeking praise, all he got was a frown instead.

"The training ends here, Naruto. But if you really want to tap into the full power of that summoning technique, come back here tomorrow," instructed Jiraiya darkly.

"Why, what am I doing wrong?" asked the blond in confusion.

"You'll find out if you come. Now go, I need time to think and prepare," replied Jiraiya before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

The blond frowned. Even after successfully performing the technique on his first try his effort still wasn't good enough? Not wanting to depress himself over it, the blond decided to take his new familiar out for a joy ride. One thing for sure, it sure beat walking…

---

Kakashi grunted as he slowly pulled his body up the cliff face using just his right arm. As strength training, the gray haired Jounin tied his left arm behind his back so that he could only make the climb with one arm. The steep craggy outcroppings of the Canyon of Death was perfect for just this purpose.

"It's gotten tougher since last time. Maybe I'm getting old," thought Kakashi as he slowly advanced.

The top of the canyon was just fifteen more feet away. It was because of this that Kakashi cursed when he suddenly lost his footing. His weight dangled excruciatingly from his arm and Kakashi could feel his fingers slipping. Kakashi closed his eyes in concentration.

"Gate of Opening, Release!"

With that, Kakashi's eye snapped open. His strength jumped to five times its' normal level, allowing him to reclaim his slipping grip. Effortlessly he propelled himself the remaining fifteen feet straight into the air. He seized the upper ledge and pulled himself to the top. He stiffened upon seeing a pair of feet in front of him.

"I'm ready to start now…Sensei," came Sasuke's quiet voice.

"Good, prepare yourself. The first phase of your training will be Taijutsu!" cried Kakashi before lunging towards Sasuke with his fist raised.

The Uchiha took a stance…

---

Sagitario and five other ANBU gazed solemnly at the corpse laying between them. They had gotten a report not too long ago that someone had been murdered late last night. The person who discovered the body had been half drunk on sake so his report wasn't investigated until he had sobered up. Now because of a small delay, the culprit had escaped. What more, the witness couldn't recall anything specific about the murderer.

The victim was none other than Hayate himself and by the looks of it, he had died from a sword wound. His body was almost completely split in two. Sagitario shifted his gaze to one of his teammates in particular. A female ANBU with long purple hair, Hayate's girlfriend. She kneeled and cradled the corpse face in her hands.

"Sagitario-sama…I want to find the person who did this!" she said.

Sagitario shifted his gaze towards the battle dome where the Chuunin exam would take place.

"Yeah. I want to find him to…Yugao Uzuki," responded Sagitario quietly.

---

The next morning, Naruto went to meet with Jiraiya for what felt like the last time. If the blond was able to fully master the Summoning Jutsu today, then he would have three more days left before he begun training with Genmaru. The thought was comforting, but he had grown attached to the old man and didn't much like the thought of abandoning him so soon.

"But I have to get stronger before the exam starts! I'll find a way to make it up to him when it's over," the blond promised himself.

With that, he sped up until he arrived at the meeting point. Jiraiya was sitting Indian style while quietly meditating.

"Most likely about something perverted," thought Naruto with a snicker.

The noise rouse Jiraiya, who stared at Naruto in an oddly subdued fashion. Naruto tensed with worry, the perverted hermit was acting less lively than normal. Not sure what to do, Naruto sat down in front of Jiraiya and waited for him to speak first. Nearly a minute had passed before he finally did.

"Since you came here, I take it you are prepared to do whatever it takes to master the Summoning Jutsu."

It wasn't a question. Naruto nodded his confirmation.

"Good. I'm not going to beat around the bushes here, Naruto. If you truly want to become strong, you must learn how to tap into the power of the Nine Tailed Fox!" said Jiraiya darkly.

Naruto stiffened.

"You knew?" asked the blond.

"That's not important. What matters right now is getting you to tap into the fox's chakra at will. During your last summoning, I didn't sense a single drop of the fox's chakra at all. Because of this, you are without a doubt strong but it'll be difficult to survive unless you can use its' chakra when needed," lectured the perverted hermit.

"So you're saying that I've already mastered the Summon? Also, what does that damn fox have to do with anything?" asked the blond seriously for once.

"That fox has everything to do with you. You're in a lot of danger right now, Naruto. To help you protect yourself, you must be able to use your greatest weapon."

"Danger? From what?" asked Naruto.

"You'll know in time. For now, will you do everything I ask without question?"

Naruto carefully consider that for a moment. Whatever the hermit had in mind sounded really dangerous. In the end, his curiously got the better of him and he nodded his agreement.

"Okay then. The first thing you should know, is that there are two methods of extracting the Nine Tail's chakra with your current seal. The most obvious is that the chakra is released in times when your emotions are strong during life or death situations. The method we are going to attempt is a lot more dangerous, but in turn it's almost much more powerful," begun Jiraiya.

"What do I have to do?" asked Naruto.

"To be able to use the fox's chakra at will, you must engage in combat with the Nine Tailed Fox," replied Jiraiya darkly.

Naruto paled three times over.

"Are you out of your mind!? You want me to fight a monster that even the Fourth Hokage couldn't handle!?" cried Naruto in total shock.

"Yes."

The answer was said so calmly and seriously that it had the effect of calming Naruto down somewhat. Apparently Jiraiya saw something great in the boy or else he wouldn't have asked him to risk his own neck.

"What do I have to do?" repeated Naruto in a voice that sounded braver than he felt.

"Since you cannot fight the fox due to the seal placed on you, I'm going to send you into a Genjutsu. Your mind will relive the day that the Nine Tails attacked the village," replied Jiraiya.

Naruto's eyes grew wider. Jiraiya was going to send his mind into the past!

"Here's how it will work. You will have at best two hours to prepare yourself before the fox arrives at the border of the village. During that time, seek out a subordinate of mine named Rin. She'll be able to help you out considerably. Note that you may see people that you know today at much younger ages. Since this is an illusion, I won't tell you how to behave. You'll just have to use your judgment on this one. One last thing, don't be fooled into thinking that the illusion won't hurt you. I assure you the damage you may take will be very much real. It's also quite possible that you really will die if you attempt this. Last chance time, will you still do it?"

Naruto was scared, more scared than even the time when he had fought Zabuza. But the more he heard, the more his blood boiled with excitement.

"Of course I'm going!" replied Naruto with determined eyes.

Jiraiya smiled more proudly than he ever remembered. This boy was like him in so many ways, it was almost as if his student had been reincarnated again.

"Alright. Lay back and try to relax," instructed Jiraiya gently.

Naruto did as instructed and took deep calming breaths as Jiraiya placed his palm on Naruto's forehead. With his free hand, Jiraiya pressed his index and middle fingers to his left eye.

"Remember this Naruto, you don't have to beat the fox. Just stay on even footing with it for at least ten minutes."

Naruto's eyes grew heavy and he closed them tiredly.

"Edo Sokai…"

---

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The blond found himself in an empty clearing that he recognized. It was the very same spot where his future training area would be, the place where he had first learned that he was the container of the monster fox. Jiraiya was nowhere in sight, a sign that there was some truth to what he had said.

Judging by how dark it was, the sun had set not too long ago. If what the pervert hermit had told him was correct, he had just two hours to prepare for his battle with the monster fox. It was hard to believe that he had actually went back in time to that day. Even if it was a Genjutsu, everything looked and felt so real. The gentle wind on his face, the slight chill of the night, the smell of meals being prepared, everything.

Realizing that he wasting precious time, Naruto made way to the thirteen year younger village of Konoha. He arrived just two minutes later, at the spot where the vending machines used to be. It was here that he had beaten Ebisu with the Harem technique. Naruto chuckled at the memory. His laugh seemed to have attracted someone's attention since the sound of footfalls rushing towards him was very noticeable.

"Halt, who goes there?!" came a feminine voice, complimented by the shing of what sounded like a pair of kunai being drawn.

Not wanting to get into a fight with whoever this person was, Naruto answered quickly.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm a citizen here," which was technically true seeing how he had just been born today.

"Naruto, was it? Stay where you are with both hands where I can see them!" ordered the voice.

Naruto raised his hands in the air as instructed and waited. A super cute girl then came into view. She had brown shoulder length hair that wonderfully brought out the rich brown of her eyes. There were two purple bandages on her face, one for each cheek. She was wearing loose fitting dark blue robes and a white apron. Her Konoha forehead protector was secured in place on her forehead.

The girl lowered her weapons upon spotting Naruto's forehead protector. She then gave a relieved sigh.

"Good, for a second I figured you for a spy from Rock Country. Are you alright?" asked the girl.

Naruto liked the sight of her eyes. They were kind and really friendly. Best of all was that they weren't narrowed in dislike at his presence because of the fox within him. It was a startling contrast to the treatment he received back home.

"Yes, I'm okay," replied Naruto quietly.

"That's good, but you should report to your squad," said the girl.

"My squad?" echoed Naruto.

"Whoo boy, you must be new then. We're currently on high alert due to the reports we've gotten about the Kyuubi no Kitsune heading towards the village. Every team of Genin rank are suppose to patrol the village and alert the Chuunin and Jounin squads to any suspicious activities," explained the girl calmly.

"Damn, that bastard fox is already on the move!" thought Naruto with a glare towards the ground. "Thanks for the advice, um?"

The girl pressed her hand to her mouth with an embarrassed giggle.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself! My name is Rin."

Naruto gave a start. Rin was a girl his age! When it came to the perverted hermit, Naruto had been expecting a older and more perky woman. He quickly composed himself so as not to seem suspicious.

"Rin, this is going to sound strange but I was sent here to find you by a man named Jiraiya," voiced Naruto carefully.

It was best not to dump to much information on his possible aid so soon. The last thing he needed was to scare off the girl who was suppose to help him fight the monster fox.

"Oh great, you know Jiraiya-sama! Hey lets talk while we walk, I'm suppose to be reporting to the village border right now," said Rin while walking off into the town.

Naruto hastily followed after her. Rin waited expectantly while Naruto fumbled with his thoughts.

"If I just come out and say it, she'll think I'm crazy. But if I don't say anything, then it might be harder to fight with that damn fox," Naruto weighted his options in his mind.

Naruto then remembered Sarutobi.

"Um, Rin, it may be easier for me to explain this if we speak with Hokage-sama," suggested Naruto.

"Well alright, we'll be sure to meet up with Sensei once we arrive at the border," agreed Rin cheerfully.

"Sensei?" mused Naruto in awe.

If she had been trained directly by the Hokage himself, then she must've been really powerful. It was hard to tell right now though since her chakra was being carefully suppressed. Naruto's hopes still rose a bit, maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. The blond spent a majority of the trip looking around the village. A lot of the shops he remembered were either not build yet, or completely different altogether. His stomach gave an audible growl at that moment. Rin heard this, much to Naruto's embarrassment, and giggled.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Naruto meekly. "Can we stop by Ichiraku for a minute?"

"Ichiraku?" echoed a confused Rin. "Is that new?"

Naruto mentally kicked himself.

"Ichiraku's Ramen stand probably hasn't even been built yet! How did these guys survive!?" though the blond with teary eyes. "Never mind. Lets go somewhere you like."

"Okay, we can stop by Vaughn's. The man working there is really kind," said Rin with a smile.

"Vaughn's? I wonder if it's related to Genmaru somehow?" thought Naruto with a smirk.

His future training partner was sure to be an infant by this time.

"Yes, that'll be fine," agreed Naruto wholeheartedly.

The good thing about the old Konoha was that nothing was too far away. Instead of there being two sectors to the village, there was only one. The area on the opposite side of the river, that would become sector two, was completely untouched. Naruto knew that that would change in the next thirteen years. They arrived at Vaughn's in less than two minutes.

"Mr. Nu! Two hungry costumers for you!" announced Rin once in the shop.

A kindly old man appeared behind the nearby counter top that linked to an open view kitchen. He smiled at Rin.

"Ah it's lovely to see you again, dear. Come in come in, take a seat!" beckoned Nu.

Rin and Naruto did just that. Nu gave Naruto a quick once over and smiled.

"Well now this is certainly a surprise. Who would've thought that little Rin would find herself a boyfriend!" teased Nu.

Rin turned scarlet.

"Mr. Nu!" cried Rin.

"Now now, don't be so modest! What's your name, sonny?" asked Nu kindly.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage!" answered the blond with his usual gusto.

Nu and Rin both laughed merrily. Naruto still took offence though.

"What's so funny!?" he demanded.

"Oh, no need to get so hot under the collar. You just remind me so much of my grandson," answered Nu good naturedly.

"You do!" agreed Rin. "You act just like Xi and Sensei too."

"Xi?" echoed Naruto.

The old man cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to the kitchen.

"Maya! Bring the kids out, there's someone I'd like them to meet!" cried Nu.

"Yes father!" replied a soothing voice.

A few moments later, a gorgeous woman with long black hair entered the room. Everything about her was perfect, from the shine of her hair to her misty gray eyes. She was wearing pink robes that looked positively elegant. In one arm she held a sleeping baby boy while another kid was holding her free hand. She smiled warmly upon laying eye on Naruto and Rin.

"Ah Maya, this strapping young lad is Uzumaki Naruto. From what I can tell he's Rin's new friend," introduced Nu.

"Please to meet you Naruto-san, I'm Maya," greeted the woman while turning to Rin. "He's quite cute, I'm happy for you, Rin."

Rin and Nu laughed while Naruto flushed in awe. Unless he was mistaken, this beautiful woman was Genmaru's mother! Naruto stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Please to meet you!" he said with his head still bowed.

He felt Maya wonderfully soft hands caress his cheek, causing Naruto to look up with a flush. Maya stared into Naruto's eyes as if searching for something.

"Oh my, he really is like Xi. He has the same eyes," said Maya warmly.

"Don't I know it. He says he's going to be the future Hokage too! Strong young guy like him will be quite something I'm sure, especially if he's like Hokage-sama! He certainly looks the part!" said Nu.

The trio erupted into laughter that was at a lost on Naruto. The blond shifted his gaze to the boy standing shyly by his mother. The kid looked like a miniature Genmaru except he had black eyes and silver hair. This was obviously Xi. Naruto kneeled to his height and grinned.

"I hear that you plan on becoming Hokage!" said Naruto amicably.

"Yeah!" replied Xi with the same determination Naruto exhibited.

Naruto smiled. Judging from the records he had read about the four Hokages, Xi had yet to have made the cut in the upcoming thirteen years. However, Naruto believed wholeheartedly that he would succeed one day. Xi had nice eyes.

"Great, then here's a bit of advice for you. Understand that there are no shortcuts on the road you're trying to take. The only sure way to become Hokage is to work hard and protect those who are precious to you," advised Naruto warmly.

"Yeah," agreed Xi. "Mister, you have the same eyes as me. Are you trying to become Hokage too?"

The question was innocent and curious. Naruto nodded.

"Yes, I want to be able to protect everyone in this village one day," answered Naruto honestly.

Rin looked at Naruto with growing respect.

"Sensei said the same thing," realized Rin in awe.

Nu nodded in agreement.

"You're a very wise lad. Here, I'll prepare the house's finest cuisine for you all free of charge. Do you like seafood?" asked Nu.

Naruto nodded and the old man immediately went into the kitchen to prepare his special. Naruto's eyes then lowered to the baby that Maya was carrying. Maya took notice of this and smiled.

"Would you like to hold him?" she asked.

Naruto was stunned at her trust in him.

"I…is it alright?" he asked nervously.

"Certainly!" replied Maya. "Someone like you is more than welcome to hold my darling Genmaru."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He was going to hold one of his best friends as an infant! Almost without realizing it, Naruto held out his arms. Maya then tenderly placed the baby in his arms while showing him the proper way to hold him. Naruto gazed into the alert and keen eyes of the young Genmaru. Wordlessly Naruto let Genmaru grasp his finger with his small hands. Naruto smiled happily as Genmaru cooed.

"Genmaru…I never imagined that I would meet you like this. You're so young and free and yet you became so powerful. I swear to you, I'll never let that fox hurt you. It's the promise of a lifetime," Naruto heard himself say almost as if in a surreal state of mind.

Maya and Rin smiled. They had a feeling that those two would become very good friends one day. They had no idea how right they were…

---

Rin and Naruto left the shop a half an hour later with noticeably full bellies. Mr. Nu had prepared quite a bit of seafood that neither of them had the heart to refuse. Best of all, it was most likely the most delicious thing Naruto had ever tasted. He could see where Genmaru had inherited his cooking skills from. Speaking of which, Naruto had been a bit reluctant to let Genmaru go. The tyke had drifted off to sleep in his arms and Naruto took great enjoyment in watching him sleep.

Still, Naruto knew that he had a big battle coming up shortly. So with a heavy heart Naruto returned Genmaru to his beautiful mother. Maya merely smiled at the blond and kissed him on his cheek for good luck. Naruto was still flushing at the memory. Rin looked at him and smiled.

"You're really good with children, Naruto. You'll make a good father one day," praised Rin.

Naruto placed his hands behind his head and grinned.

"Yeah!" he agreed cheerfully. "Say Rin, could you tell me a bit about yourself? We just met but I only know your name."

"Alright, let's see I'm thirteen years old. For the last six years I've studied with Tsunade-sama as a medical ninja. I've been a Chuunin for about three years. And…" ticked off Rin thoughtfully.

"You're a Chuunin!?" exclaimed Naruto in awe.

"Yep, but my teammate is a Jounin," added Rin.

Naruto shouldn't have been so surprised. In this time, Konoha was often engaged in frequent war. Most ninjas normally made Jounin rank by the age of ten according to his school books. Still, he couldn't help but admire his new friend. He wondered if perhaps he would become Chuunin after the exam, assuming that the fox didn't murder him first. Not wanting to sound too surprised, Naruto asked the other question that was on his mind.

"Out of curiosity, who's Tsunade?" asked Naruto.

Naruto almost ran into the back of Rin when she stopped suddenly. She spun around and stared at him as if he were an alien.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Rin incredulously.

"Will you get mad if I say no?" asked Naruto meekly.

Rin slapped her forehead in disbelief.

"You really are new! Alright, Tsunade-sama is one of the three Legendary Sannins! She's famous all throughout the world as the greatest medical ninja of all time!" explained Rin.

Naruto whistled.

"I had no idea that there was someone like that! Now that I think about it, I may have seen that name in one of my school books," commented Naruto thoughtfully.

"That's not surprising. I would let you meet her but she left town some time ago," said Rin.

"Ah Tsunade-sama sure was beautiful ne?" came an alluring voice.

Naruto and Rin looked towards the source to find…

"Sagitario-sensei!?" exclaimed Naruto.

"Ah, you've heard of me. Can't say that I'm surprised," said Sagitario.

The young Sagitario looked almost just like he did in the future. The difference was that he didn't have a sword at all, his hair was shoulder length and he was dressed in an ANBU uniform. The only other note was his obviously younger face. He elegantly brushed aside the bangs in his eyes and flashed a dazzling smile.

"Sensei? You two know each other?" asked Rin.

Naruto paled and started chuckling nervously.

"No, I've just heard of him," lied Naruto.

Rin seemed suspicious, but she didn't press the issue. Naruto sighed in relief while wiping his brow.

"That was a close one. I can't risk telling Rin yet!" mused Naruto.

Sagitario leaped down from the rooftop he had been standing on and landed in front of Rin. He then produced and handed Rin a rose.

"A token that couldn't begin to compare to your beauty," flirted Sagitario.

Rin and Naruto sweat dropped. Even in old times, Sagitario was still the same as ever.

"That's nice of you, but why are you really here, Sagitario?" asked Rin.

"Yes well, I was sent to deliver a message from Hokage-sama. He requests that you strengthen the border's defense on the eastern wall. Before that, all Chuunin are to report to a strategy meeting at Hokage-sama's place," reported Sagitario.

"Alright, where is Hokage-sama?" asked Rin.

"He's fortifying the northern wall. Word is that the fox will be approaching from that direction," replied Sagitario.

"Okay. I'll need you to do an important favor for me. Take my friend here to meet with Hokage-sama, he says that he has some information that may be of use to us," requested Rin.

"Certainly, I'll do it," complied Sagitario.

"Thanks, Sagitario," Rin glanced at Naruto for a moment. "Hopefully once this is all over we'll get a chance to talk some more. Be careful out there okay?"

"I will," reassured Naruto.

Rin then took to the rooftops as a speeding blur. Naruto faced Sagitario.

"An ANBU's work is never done. Come on then, we'll talk a bit while we run," said Sagitario with a smile.

With that, the duo took to the rooftops…

---

They arrived at the northern wall less than five minutes later. On the way there, Naruto had learned quite a bit about Sagitario and the activities of the Nine Tailed Fox. Sagitario was fourteen and a member of the ANBU team for almost seven years. Among the ANBU, Sagitario was easily one of the best and favored to become a squad captain one day.

As far as the fox went, Lightening Country had already felt the devastation caused by the beast and was currently in a state of recovery. The fox had apparently been driving off by a single Kumo kunoichi named Yugito Nii. Naruto frowned at the state of affairs. Judging by what Jiraiya had told him, he had only an hour and ten minutes left before the fox arrived. Hopefully that would be enough time to fill his allies in and rally up some support. But regardless of whether he had help or not, he was going to take on that fox.

Naruto and Sagitario made their way up the giant fort like structure that would later become the great walls of Konoha. It was as dark as they came and made purely out of solid stones. At best it would only be able to repel one direct attack from the fox according to what Sagitario had told him. Once at the very top of the wall, Sagitario led Naruto to a watch tower structure where a strategy secession was in order. A guard and five archers were keeping a look out while prohibiting anyone below Jounin rank to enter.

"Wait here, Naruto," instructed Sagitario before entering the meeting room.

Ten minutes later, Sagitario emerged from the room followed closely by…

"Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Naruto.

Young Kakashi was very different from the Kakashi Naruto knew. He was little more than a few inches taller than Naruto for starters. His hair was even spikier than normal and stuck out of his forehead protector like sore thumbs. Even his outfit was different, consisting of a dark blue T shirt with silver bordering the sleeves, dark blue pants, and a small sword strapped to his back with leather bandoliers.

Kakashi stared emotionlessly at Naruto before shifting his gaze to Sagitario. Kakashi's eyes more or less asked if this was the person he was talking about. Sagitario nodded in confirmation.

"Naruto, was it? You had information that you wanted to share?" asked Kakashi quietly.

Naruto took a deep breath, it was now or never.

"Yes. I was sent here by a man named Jiraiya. As hard as this is to believe, I'm from the future. Exactly thirteen years from now. I'm here to fight with the Nine Tailed Fox," explained Naruto quietly.

Even to himself, his story sounded insane. Naruto's hopes fell when Kakashi raised a skeptical eyebrow. Even Sagitario didn't seem convinced by his tale. Desperately Naruto followed up.

"Please, I need to speak with Hokage-sama!" beseeched Naruto.

"Speak to me about what?" came a deep voice.

Kakashi and Sagitario immediately separated and kneeled respectfully as a man emerged from the meeting room. Naruto's mouth dropped open. He was positive that he was staring at an adult version of himself. The man had blond spiky hair with bangs drooping on either side of his face. He had intelligent looking blue eyes that stared a Naruto with a mixture of mild interest, tiredness and humor all at the same time. His face was incredibly handsome and serious looking. He was dressed in the common Jounin apparel from Naruto's time but he was wearing a white short sleeved long coat over it that had fire designs on the coat's tail. There could be no doubt, this was Yondaime, the Fourth Hokage!

Naruto's ability to speak was forgotten as he rudely stared with his mouth hanging open dumbly. Here was the real Fourth, in the flesh! Naruto quickly recovered from his stupor and bowed respectfully.

"Hokage-sama, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I was sent here from exactly thirteen years in the future by a man named Jiraiya. I'm on a mission to fight the Nine Tailed Kitsune," repeated Naruto.

Naruto almost lost fate when Yondaime didn't say anything. His face was completely neutral so it was impossible to tell if the Fourth believed him or not. After a moment he turned to Sagitario.

"Continue the strategy meeting without me. I'd like a private word with this individual. Kakashi, you'd best join us," requested the Fourth.

"Sir!" consented Sagitario before entering the meeting room.

Kakashi remained silent, but shot intrigued glances at Naruto.

"Come, there's a pub nearby where we can talk," said the Fourth Fire Shadow.

He then placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gently steered him in the direction of the pub. Naruto couldn't believe his good luck, things were finally turning around…

---

The pub Yondaime chose for conversing was a simple place that was apparently pretty popular. It was dimly lit to give a more western feel to it. There were several rows of leather booths and plenty of full wooden tables in the center of the room. A bar where three cute hostesses were working completed the look. They were immediately guided to a empty booth by a girl that looked so much like Ichiraku's Ayame that Naruto was certain that they were related. The Fourth ordered them all rounds of orange juice that was quickly brought out for them a few seconds later. Kakashi and the Fourth then stared at Naruto.

"You say your name is Naruto, is Jiraiya-sensei doing well?" asked the Fourth after a moment.

Naruto nearly choked on his orange juice. The perverted hermit had been the Fourth's teacher!! Naruto quickly composed himself and as levelly as he could, spoke up.

"Um, yes. I think so," replied Naruto.

"That's good to hear. You should try to relax a bit, it's easier to talk when you're calm. Just so you know, I believe your story," revealed the Fourth before taking a few swallows of juice.

"Y-you do?" managed Naruto with giddy relief.

"Yes, the technique he used was an advanced Genjutsu that he employed on your mind. The Impure World Unfolding Jutsu, Edo Sokai, right?" asked the Fourth knowingly.

"Yeah, I think that's what he called it," confirmed Naruto.

"So you really are from thirteen years into the future?" asked Kakashi.

"Yep, but a lot of things are different in this time," replied Naruto.

"Interesting but, judging by the urgency in your eyes, we're short on time correct? Tell us then, what reason drives you to engage in battle with the Nine Tailed Fox?" asked the Fourth seriously.

Naruto frowned.

"Where to begin…"

By the time Naruto had explained the situation, including the fact that he was the container of the Nine Tailed Fox, thirty minutes had passed. Both Kakashi and the Fourth grew thoughtful.

"So Jiraiya-sensei sent you here in the hopes that after fighting with the fox you would be able to control its' chakra. You truly are a hero to desire to want to protect those who are precious to you with the power of the Nine Tails. My judgment was correct and choosing you to be the Kitsune's container," murmured the Fourth thoughtfully.

"But judging by Naruto's story, that means we only have twenty-eight minutes before the fox attacks the border!" pointed out Kakashi.

"So it would seem…Kakashi, rally all capable fighters to the northern wall!" ordered the Fourth.

"Sir!" said Kakashi before teleporting in a sudden gust of wind.

Yondaime then gazed at Naruto.

"I want to see the child who's body will become the Fox's container. So Naruto, you and I are going to the hospital," announced the Fourth while standing up and placing some money on the table.

"But Hokage-sama, if we do that then there won't be anytime to get to the northern wall!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Don't worry about it, come," waved off the Fourth while making to leave the shop.

Naruto hurried quickly after him…

---

Naruto was starting to panic. The Fourth had taken such a leisurely pace that by the time they had reached the hospital, twenty minutes had passed. Being all the way on the southern side of the village, Naruto knew that they would have no time to make it to the north wall by the time the fox attacked. Still, Yondaime didn't seem even remotely concerned. They entered the hospital and with the guidance of a helpful nurse, they were lead to the room of baby Naruto.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. The room they were in was extremely dark and the only source of light came from several dozen candles. The candles formed a large ring around a straw casket. Naruto and the Fourth peered inside to find Naruto himself, sound asleep. The baby wasn't clothed yet, but he was still kept warm by a soft and comfortable blanket. Naruto and the Fourth smile at each other, baby Naruto was kicking with his left leg while sucking on his thumb. The sight was completely cute to behold. Present Naruto felt tears touch the corner of his eyes at the harsh life he knew was coming soon but he wiped them away before the Fourth could say anything.

Naruto felt a sympathetic hand touch his shoulder and Yondaime leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"In order to receive the Fox, I'll need to create the seal now. It won't hurt him," promised the Fourth before stepping towards the baby.

Present Naruto watch curiously as the Fourth raised his right hand in front of himself. His palm begun to glow with blue chakra before it surrounded all of his fingers except for his thumb. The Fourth then pressed his hand to baby Naruto's stomach and formed a simple seal with his free hand.

"Shiso Fuin," whispered the Fourth.

A bright flash of light lit up the room for a moment. When it cleared, the baby never stirred from his sleep. The Fourth removed his hand but there was no visible changes in the youth's body at all. Yondaime then faced present Naruto and smiled.

"We're done here, we'll be joining the others now," announced the Fourth.

Naruto nodded and cast one last longing look at his younger self before following Yondaime out of the room. They then proceeded out of the hospital and faced each other.

"Are you glad you got to meet your younger self?" asked Yondaime.

Naruto nodded quietly and looked up with determined eyes.

"I want to beat that bastard fox more than ever now. But we only have two minutes, how are we going to make it back in time?" asked Naruto.

"I'm sure you know what my other title is right?" asked Yondaime with a slight smile.

Naruto racked his brain for information from his academy days. Finally, one page of his textbook came to mind.

"Konoha no Kiroi Senko, the Yellow Flash of Konoha," recited Naruto absently.

"Correct," said the Fourth while flashing through some seals. "Grab my coat."

Naruto place a hand on Yondaime's shoulder and waited.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu."

---

Naruto didn't even have time to blink before he found himself standing next to young Kakashi and Rin. He gazed in awe at Yondaime. Naruto didn't know whether to call it teleportation or super speed. But the blond had a sinking suspicion that it was the latter. They had arrived at the northern wall way too fast for it to be a teleportation Jutsu. That meant that Yondaime was easily faster than even Naruto and Genmaru put together!

"What's the situation, Kakashi?" asked the Fourth.

"The fox is almost here, I can smell its' chakra. All of the ninjas in the village are awaiting further instructions from you," reported young Kakashi grimly.

"I see. Everyone, this is it! We're going to engage in real combat with the Nine Tailed Kitsune! All archers, prepare to fire the Jutsu-Shiki into its' body! Main defense team, make sure that the fox doesn't pass the wall! Rear defense team, you'll be our last stand if all else fails!" shouted Yondaime.

Over six-hundred battle ready ninjas let loose war cries. They were ready for action! Naruto tensed. This was it, the big battle that would either make or break him. The Fourth turned to Naruto, Kakashi and Rin.

"We're going to engage the fox first. Once the archers have fired the Jutsu Formulas into its' flank we attack," instructed the Fourth.

"Right!" they agreed.

With that, everyone waited patiently for the arrival of the monster fox…

---

The feel of the Fox's terrifying chakra was awful. The killing intent that it radiated was beyond the level of anything any of them had ever felt before. Then the Kyuubi came into view. Small at first, but getting larger with each passing second as it neared. Yondaime raised his right hand into the air causing all of the archers to ready their bows. The beast was no more than a five-hundred feet away before the Fourth pointed at the fox.

Instantly the nonstop humming of over two-hundred bows rang out. The sky itself turned black as the projectiles sailed towards the incoming beast. The Kyuubi skidded to a halt and let loose an enraged roar as the first of many arrows pelted its' reddish orange fur. Yondaime flashed through some seals and glanced at the assault team.

"Now!" he cried.

Kakashi, Rin and Naruto immediately seized his jacket and were warped to the fox's back. Immediately they split up to begin the assault. Everyone's legs were blurs as they dashed to separate ends of the snarling Fox's body. Kakashi's right hand filled with a crackling sphere of chakra as he dashed towards the back of the Kyuubi's head. Yondaime appeared to be in multiple places at once as he vanished from place to place with his unrivaled speed to plant exploding tags in the beast's fur. Rin was stopping from time to time to hit the Fox with frightening levels of insane strength that even went beyond what Domino displayed during the preliminaries. Lastly, Naruto appeared in a flash of speed on the bridge of the beast's nose and glared hatefully into its' eyes.

"Damn fox! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! I swear on everything I stand for, I'm going to take you down!" declared Naruto with his fist aimed at the Fox's eyes.

The Kyuubi laughed in a deep and cruel voice while narrowing its' eyes at the fool who would dare challenge him. It barely even noticed the tiny insect like attacks on his body from Naruto's companions. Only the boy standing on his nose was of any interest at the moment. Naruto growled and hurled some smoke pellets right into the Kitsune's left eye. It howled in agony while trashing about in an attempt to dislodge the brat from his nose. He was going to pay for that!

Naruto withdrew a kunai with an exploding tag attached and was about to hurl it into the fox's other eye when it violently snapped its' head upwards. Naruto cried out in alarm as he was hurled several dozen feet into the air. By this point Kakashi had hit the fox in the back of the head with his Raikiri, further angering the fox. It shook its' body like a wet dog causing Rin and Kakashi to lose their balance. They managed to stop themselves from falling off of the fox by seizing fist fulls of the creature's fur. Yondaime appeared in front of the raging fox's snout with a small sphere of rotating blue chakra in his hand.

"Rasengan!" he cried before thrusting the sphere into the fox's nose.

It roared in pain and attempted to take a swipe at the Hokage with his paw. Naturally he vanished in a flash thanks to his Flying Thunder God technique.

"Tajuu Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" came Naruto's voice as he fell back down to rejoin the fight.

The sky filled with nearly two-hundred Narutos, all armed with exploding notes. The fox wasn't going to make it that easy though. A MONSTER sized aura of chakra erupted forth from the Kyuubi's body that blew everyone off of his body and sent the Naruto army flying as well. The forty foot tall fox then swung one of its' giant tails conjuring up a huge gust of wind. The wind easily made several fissures in the earth resulting in the birth of the Canyon of Death. Kakashi caught Rin just as the gust nearly blew her away and anchored himself in place with a kunai.

Of the Naruto army only fifty of them had survived the fox's counterattack. They landed and stood protectively in front of the others. Yondaime appeared next to the real Naruto, that he had tagged with a Jutsu Formula earlier, and formed a seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried spawning fifty Hokages to join in on the match.

"Let's go!" cried all of the clones before vanishing in flashes of speed.

They all appeared on the fox's body and detonated via the suicide bomber method. A chain reaction of more than three hundred exploding tags rang out causing the fox to howl in pain and smash with a winded grunt on its' belly. Once the explosions came to an end, the real Naruto and Yondaime dashed forward as white and orange blurs. They ran up the downed Kitsune's forelegs and boosted off towards its' head. The fox snarled and quickly rose back up to its' full height. These insects were really starting to bother him now. He had long since regenerated from that little explosion stunt they had pulled earlier and had no intention of letting them do it again.

Naruto and Yondaime landed on the fox's snout and nodded to each other. Naruto dashed forth while the Fourth flashed through some hand seals. The fox tried to dislodge them from his nose, but Yondaime was warping around too fast to be disoriented in the least and Naruto had high jumped into the air.

"Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu!" cried Naruto spawning two clones.

The real Naruto and one of his clones seized the other clone and hurled him forth with all the strength they could muster. The fox countered with a chakra roar that slowed the clone's fall and blew the other two Narutos away. Still the flying clone was moving fast enough to pull of the suicide bombing technique directly the beast's eyes. The fox howled in pain, but his suffering was far from over. The Fourth appeared directly in the center of the Kyuubi's back and pressed his palm there.

"I call you forth…Gamabunta! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" cried the Fourth.

In a poof of smoke, the Nine Tailed Fox was literally squashed by a HUGE toad. The giant Toad King was over a hundred meters tall and very grumpy looking. He was wearing a blue vest that had the Japanese characters for Toad King on the back. On either side of the big toad were a pair of knives that, in relation to his size, looked more like short swords. The Toad's skin was slightly red and his eyes were golden. A large pipe completed the look. The Fourth stood proudly on top of its' head.

"Hey, where am I?" bellowed Gamabunta. "What's the meaning of this, Yondaime?"

"Gamabunta, let's protect the people of our village together," requested the Fourth with a confident smile.

The giant toad smiled.

"That's so like you, Fourth. Alright but once this is over we're having sake together!" announced Gamabunta in a tone that left no room for argument.

Naruto stared in awe at the King of Toads.

"So this is what the hermit meant!" realized Naruto with wide eyes.

The fox, grew tired of being a cushion for the overweight Toad King and jerked up with enough strength to send Gamabunta flying backwards. The fox turned towards its' new foe and growled ferociously. Gamabunta calmly took a drag on his pipe and exhaled the smoke into the fox's face. The Kitsune's fury knew no bounds.

"I'm going to rip you to shreds! Then I'll feast on your bowels!" roared the Kyuubi.

"And I could use a warm blanket at night!" countered the Toad King.

Sensing that things were going to get messy, Naruto hopped off of the Kyuubi's leg and regrouped with Kakashi and Rin. Rin immediately set about healing Naruto's wounds with a strange restorative green light from her hands. Once done, the trio turned their attention to the battle at hand.

Gamabunta crouched a bit and drew one of his swords from its' sheathe. The fox powered up its' incredible chakra aura and glared as if daring the Toad to make the first move. Gamabunta did just that and sprang forward like only a strong giant toad can. He swung his sword in a wide sweeping arc that the Kitsune effortlessly avoid with a high jump into the air. The moment it landed, the fox grabbed a tree with one of its' tails and charged. The toad grunted as he received a solid whack with the Kyuubi's weapon choice.

With a growl, Gamabunta took to the air and clapped its' webbed forelegs together.

"Suiton, Teppodama!" cried the Toad before spiting a compressed ball of water at the demon.

The Kyuubi leaped back out of harm's way and hurled the tree at the airborne toad. It hit hard causing the Toad King to cry out in pain. The Kyuubi grinned and dashed forward to deliver the finishing blow to the oversized toad.

"Now!" cried Yondaime causing Gamabunta to spit a wave of oil at the startled Kitsune.

The Fourth then flashed through some seals.

"Katon, Gamayu Endan!" cried Yondaime before breathing a jet of flame into the oil.

Like a firey bullet of doom, the ignited oil engulfed and barbequed the Kyuubi. It howled in pain and crouched to lessen the amount of damage it was taking. All of the onlookers cheered at the sight. This angered the proud Kitsune and he rose up with a shockwave of chakra that knocked everyone, including Gamabunta, on their backs. The Fourth quickly formed a prayer seal, causing all of the exploding tags he had planted to ignite. While it didn't hurt, the explosions still startled the fox out of its' concentration.

The archers added to the beast's misery by firing another wave of arrows with exploding notes attached to them. The Kyuubi roared as over three hundred arrows detonated on contact with its' body. Kakashi aided as well with another Raikiri aimed at the Kitsune's paw. Even Rin was able to leap up to the Kyuubi's snout to ram a kunai with an exploding note attached right into its' nose. Naruto added to the pain by spawning eighty more clones and having them ram a hundred and sixty exploding kunai into the Kyuubi's ass, Kakashi style! The fox started dancing about, there were simply too many attacks pelting him at once.

Angrily, the Kyuubi made a desperate dash at the nearest possible target. Sadly this turned out to be Naruto himself. Naruto was so startled by this that he fell onto his back. The blond barely managed a scream before the monster fox crushed his legs with its' massive paw. Naruto howled in pain as the Kyuubi's razor sharp nails separated his legs from his torso.

"Naruto!" came the cries of Kakashi, Rin and the Fourth.

Naruto hacked up a mouthful of blood and winched. He could already feel his life blood seeping out of his severed body. The Fourth was besides himself with fury and vanished in a flash of speed to appear upon the grinning fox's nose. Yondaime then formed a seal while his chakra aura spiked to the max!

"Shinigami…lend me your power," murmured the Fourth with downcast eyes.

The fox felt his body grow rigged and stiff. Somehow the human had paralyzed him! The Kyuubi's eyes grew fearful as tiny gray flames surrounded the Fourth's body. A ghostly wisp of smoke then surrounded Yondaime before slowly giving way to an almost transparent creature. The thing had purple skin, devil like horns on its' forehead and a mouthful of razor sharp teeth that were frozen in a permanent grin. It had what looked like a butcher knife in its' mouth that shone with a cold glow. The thing was wearing white robes that matched its' long white hair perfectly. Its' bright blue eyes shown with excitement. This was the Legendary Death God, Shinigami.

Without making a sound, Shinigami rammed its' clawed hand into the Fourth's body and tugged until a blue mass of light was extracted. The light assumed the shape of Yondaime before it merged with Shinigami's body. As if placed on a crucifix, the Yondaime shaped light spread its' arms straight out and bowed its' head. The Death God then conjured up a second pair of arms from its' opening robes and rammed them into the Kyuubi's body. The Fox howled in terror as this took place.

Once the Nine Tail's soul had been fully extracted from its' body, Shinigami seized the handle of its' knife and cut through a thin sprit cord that linked the fox's soul to its' body. Yondaime then raised his right hand to the heavens…

"Shiso Fuin."

The Fox sprit turned into a mass of bright red light and slipped free of Shinigami's grasp. Then, like a shooting star, the light sped in the direction of the hospital and its' container. The Death God bared its' fangs as if protesting to the lost of its' meal. Yondaime sank weakly to his knees and aimed a sad smile at Naruto and his students. He gave that same smiled to the stunned solders and citizens of the village.

"Please, see Naruto as the hero that I know he will become," thought Yondaime as his eyes glazed over. "Shiki Fuin."

Shinigami more than excitedly extracted Yondaime's captured soul from his own body and cut through that sprit cord with its' knife as well. The Death God then opened its' mouth impossibly wide and swallowed the severed soul completely. Shinigami then crossed its' arms over itself and slowly vanished from sight. Yondaime immediately slumped over, very much dead.

Tears touched the corner of every person's eyes, including Naruto's before he closed his own eyes for the last time…

---

Hey Hey Hoo, it's Aninene!! I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Lola said the ending of this chapter had moved her to tears. Just like I promised, no Cannon short of the Jiraiya scene that I altered a lot. Please let me know how I did guys. :)

Wow! That's a lot of reviews!! Yahoo, let's get cracking :D

Lilith Desiree: You're probably right. The part about Lee Neji and Tenten made me laugh! XD The only thing I can say is that Team Gai had graduated one year before everyone else did and weren't given at number during Naruto's graduation year. If they had one last year or even at all, it was just never mentioned. But I'm dying to know what their team number is if they do have one :)

jbalman: Ah a question that's hard to answer without spoiling it. I'll just say that it's not likely that Naruto will be joining the clan, but it's a really good possibility.

Digi fan: Really really strong! It's almost scary, but he won't be invincible or anything like that. :)

zerodragon: Awesome! I feel extra proud of myself hearing that you liked it. Also I apologize for the delay, every time I tried to post chapter ten I kept getting an error message. Fortunately the admin fixed the problem so I haven't had anymore trouble yet. :)

Aj: Whoa, you read almost the whole thing in one sitting!? That's amazing :) Yeah, I understand what you mean about the changes being slow. Sorry about that, but we've reached the point where I can easily alter the original story a lot due to all the elements I put in over time. Most of the story was written by memory of what I saw and read from the Anime and Manga. I didn't sit in front of TV and copy it or anything like that. Being born with a good memory pays off sometimes. XD

Necroblade: Yay, I'm glad you like it! I feel the same way about some of the Insertion fics. Most of the time the writer will only do two or three chapters and stop. Not me, I intend to finish this one! XD Yeah, Naruto wasn't getting the attention he deserved at all. Sasuke fan girls annoyed me just as much as they annoy Naruto. XD The pairings were tough calls, but as I wrote and made notes it just seemed so right to make it a NarutoxElaine pairing. It was also encouraged by both Lola and CodeKyuubi. :)

My prayers have been answered! It's reviews reviews and more reviews! Thanks guys :)

I don't wanna do the Disclaimer!! It's like that evil monkey in Chris Griffen's closet! XD

I do not, have not and will not ever own any part of the Anime Naruto. Only my original characters and elements remain my own. Anything else belongs to Bandai and Mr. Kishimoto!

Next up, the Ranking System!

Naruto - D Plus Rank after Jiraiya dispels Orochimaru's seal with a Focus Gauge of 0/100 after using Limit Break against the Kyuubi.

Yondaime - S Rank of course

Rin - C Plus Rank

Young Kakashi - B Plus Rank

Young Kakashi - A Minus Rank using Sharingan

The end of another exciting chapter! Did Naruto die, or am I just teasing you? Find out in the next exciting installment :)

Bonus note: Just for fun, imagine that the song Sneak Chamber from Samurai Champloo is playing during the Kyuubi battle. :)