Improvement

The old Hokage sat at his desk, signing papers like always. His calloused hand moved in a motion that seemed almost automatic, mainly because it work in front of him was far from his train of thought.

The old man was anxious beyond measure. His plate was filled to the brim with things to deal with. The first on his list of problems was the number of families he had to write letters of apologies too.

This year was the most brutal in recent memory; the death count hadn't been this high since the warring years. The Forest of Death was littered with bodies of young genin, most being crushed by sand. Konoha was extremely lucky that every team made it out, especially since three were rookies.

And speaking of the rookies, it brought to the front of his mind the main cause of his stress.

His student was out with Naruto for two entire weeks and he had yet to hear anything from him. From a pause that long the old man could only think the worse.

Make no mistake, he didn't doubt the power of the Sannin in the slightest. Oh no, there was only a handful of shinobi that could beat him in a fair fight. Well, as fair as a shinobi fight could be, he thought with a chuckle. He single handedly wiped out waves of shinobi during the warring days. His mastery of the sealing arts was second to none and his gang of summons were among the most feared.

His problem was that he knew that the man wasn't invincible. Even with all of Jiraiya's power he would be helpless if he were to take on numerous S ranked shinobi. The Akatsuki group he spoke of often could possibly overpower him with the right team, according to the sage. He attempted to keep constant watch on the man, but he slipped the view of his Anbu before the duo even crossed the border. Most leaders may have been angered at the fact, but he could only smirk in pride that his student was using what he taught him so well.

And speaking of students, he was also curious of the progress Naruto was making. Everyone knew that the sage was a great teacher; he was not only trained by a Hokage but he taught one as well. He knew Naruto could be difficult, but the man had a thing for bringing the best out of people.

He was also worried that the boy may miss his fight. Although he admitted that Neji was *cough* slightly more advanced than Naruto, he was certain that the boy would find a way to win. Naruto had that effect on him; he could never doubt him in the most dire situations. His inherited stubbornness was one of his prominent features, after all.

Hiruzen sighed as he rubbed his temples. He swore that he could feel wrinkles forming on his face, and checked a mirror in his desk to make sure he wasn't. He assured himself that he would retire after these exams, there was no doubt about it. He could envision he and Konohamaru laying on the beach of Diamond City, a luxurious resort on the coast of the fire country, with drinks in their hands. Asuma was in the back smiling with Kurenai. He hummed in pleasure as the thoughts hit him. But before he got ahead of himself there was one major question:

Who would be the next Hokage?

He could see the leader of the Nara clan taking his position or even Kakashi, but they both were much too lazy for the job. Jiraiya would flat out deny him and those were his only three candidates. Regardless, someone else was going to wear this would have to draw straws if it came to it.

Hiruzen slightly raised his eyebrows as a poof sounded on his desk. He noticed a red toad with blue markings above either eye and on the top of his head. He also had a pair of green goggles hanging around his short neck.

"Yo! How are you doing, Hokage?" the toad asked in a cheerful tone.

"I'm fine Kosuke," he said, with a forced smile. "I'm hoping you bring good news from Jiraiya?"

"Yep!" the toad said aloud with pride as he raised his hand and dropped a small capsule into the humans. "I'll be back in an hour for your response. The summon gave a grin and a salute. "Later!" he said as he dispersed, leaving a trail of smoke.

Hiruzen shook his head in amusement. If he had to guess he'd say that Ma must be finishing dinner from his hasty exit.

With a grin he pressed the button and out popped a small scroll. He grabbed the parchment and grinned at the Chunin Exam flyer in his hand. With a seal he decrypted the genjutsu and saw the familiar hand writing.

Hey, Old Man! In case you're wondering who I am, it's your favorite student!

"Because someone else delivers their mail by toad…" the man grumbled in annoyance.

But skipping the introductions, I'm just checking in. If my internal calendar is right then you should be losing your mind worrying about me by now. But fear not! I am safe and well! No one can match the might of the Great *insert name*.

I really don't want to go too much into detail while writing, but I'd like to say that the Warden is doing well… as well as he can.

He didn't like the way that sounded. The Warden was the code name for Naruto, in case their letters were intercepted. Ignoring the multiple negative scenarios that played in his head he continued to read.

I have yet to had time to develop his skills with his special properties, but after this week I will. Apparently the two can communicate… and I had the misfortune of seeing them in action.

The paper crumpled slightly in the man's calloused hands. He couldn't believe what he was reading. Yet still, he pressed on.

Don't get your panties in a bunch! The only person that was harmed in the process is on his way to you as we speak. I'm sure he has a lot to tell you.

The Kage relaxed at this information. He would be sure to be present at the interrogation of this man's memories.

Oh, and I ran into your daughter. She'll be delivering your parcel. It's rather soft so please be sure to handle it as roughly as possible. Don't break the toy, though. I'd like my turn.

But that's all for now. Oh! It's not! I've actually ran into an interesting cast of people that I'm traveling with. One of them is the guy I left looking for, the other a rather pretty teen and a kid with immense potential. They both are rather unique and I can't wait until you meet them. Our Warden seems to finally have friends that have zero bias towards him! It's great! See ya in a few weeks!

Signed,

Wood Ant. Yulike Tanoe

Ps: Research was awesome.

The Leader of Konohagakure read the letter numerous times until it was engraved in his memory. With a snap of his fingers the paper disintegrated into ash that flew out of the window by command. A small smile spread across his face.

He was happy that Jiraiya contacted him. He was happy that Naruto was ok, and trusted that Jiraiya worked on his seal. He couldn't wait to meet the Legendary Roshi and hoped that he could learn from the man. He was more happy that Naruto was making friends. But the reason for his smile?

"I can't wait for the new book!"

XxxoxxX

Jiraiya was laid in the hot tub sipping on sake. This vehicle was amazing! It had an inside bar, a jacuzzi, and even a pole for women to do Kami knows what on! He tried to coax Bulma into joining him in the tub, but she declined rather harshly.

Bulma made herself the designated driver. She was extremely annoyed by the two old geezers, their attempts to get with her were terrible. She wished that the two boys were on the inside with her.

Bulma kept her eyes on the thermometer and realized that the temperature was increasing rapidly. "Whoa! It's 115 degrees out there!" she exclaimed.

"Oh really?" the old turtle hermit said as he jumped beside the girl. "Then maybe you should take your shirt off, then you'll cool do-argh!" Bulma smashed on the breaks, causing the old man to fly face first into the windshield. A trail of blood was left smeared on the glass as he slowly slid to the ground. Even Jiraiya flinched at the impact.

Bulma opened the door and ran outside. "Goku! Naruto! You can ride on the inside now!" She heard a laugh and soon sawtwo trails of sand running in her direction. The first one reached her, and a couple seconds later a tired Naruto did the same.

Goku giggled as Naruto fell to the ground. "What... are... you...?" Naruto asked the boy. Goku simply stared at Naruto upside down with his usual grin.

"Get up, Naruto! I've been running all day, I'm hungry!" he whined.

Naruto's stomach growled as well. A growl escaped his throat at his condition. He was beyond sure that his sensei used a body weakening Jutsu, something he wanted to learn.

He struggled to his feet. It was amazing how much stamina his new friend possessed. At first Goku struggled a little, but after a few hours, he was moving like nothing was holding him back. Naruto still struggled a bit to move. His muscles ached with each motion and his heart was working overtime in his chest, yet he pressed on.

He refused to show any pain in front of Goku. The raven haired boy just smiled and pushed on, no matter the difficulty. While his limbs were heavy and impeding his movements, Goku moved as if he was barely tired.

"Come on! This baby even cooks for you!" Bulma said happily.

Both boys faces lit up. "Really!" they yelled in unison. Before Bulma could respond, she felt a burst of wind blow past her. She turned around and saw that both boys were already inside, sitting at the table with big grins on their faces.

Bulma shook her head and couldn't help but to smile. She pressed a button on the monitor. A loud beeping could be heard, and then a mechanical voice. "What will you like to eat today?" it said.

"Fish!"

"Ramen!"

"Bulma!"

Everyone's eye twitched at the response of the old turtle hermit. Bulma's face turned a dangerous red as she quickly approached the still sitting man. Everyone winced as she began pummeling the old perv while shouting obscenities. Naruto and Goku laughed at the sight, while Jiraiya grimaced.

This reminded him a lot of his old teammate. Although the punches were uncoordinated they seemed painful. The ferocity in each strike was tremendous! A mental note was made to halt his advances.

After five minutes of an old man getting beat bloody by a teen, a younger old man staring dumbfounded and a pair of pre teens egging it on, they heard a beep. "Your meals are done," the voice said.

The table opened up and out rose a feast that caused everyone's mouth to water. There in front of them was a full buffet. There was many flavors of ramen, as well as types of fish. Stewed fish, baked fish, fried fish, the list went on!

Before anyone could let out a single word, both boys were stuffing their faces with food. Bulma stared at the two disgusted as they wolfed it down. It didn't seem like they were chewing in the slightest.

Goku looked up at Bulma. "Wanna bite?" he asked in between biting a chunk out of a large grilled salmon. He held the fish towards her and she almost barfed at the dead look in its eyes.

"Uhhh... no thanks,"Goku shrugged his shoulders and stuffed the entire fish into his mouth. When he pulled the tail back out, all that was left was bone. The girl shivered as he grabbed another. "I have to go change into something comfortable!" she said as she went into the king bedroom.

Jiraiya smirked at seeing the two boys eat. The kids needed all the energy after the intense training they did. He walked towards the boys and sat at the table.

"How was the training?" he asked with a smirk.

"It was awesome!" Goku yelled without stopping his onslaught of eating.

"It was torture!" Naruto shrieked. "It's one hundred freakin' degrees out there!"

Jiraiya nodded. "Being a shinobi means that you'll be exposed to many different elements. The heat, the cold, the rain, it doesn't matter to the enemy."

Naruto grimaced as he thought about what the man said. "Well, what about all of that running?" He wasn't going to let the old pervert win this argument.

"Well," Jiraiya responded as he grabbed a bowl of ramen, "as shinobi, it's not uncommon for us to run long distances." He paused as he blew the stew and ate a mouthful. He glanced at the boys saw them staring with interest. "Maybe your mission is to deliver a package in a certain time, maybe you must run from a shinobi that is over powering you," he shrugged, "who knows. It's things like this that we shinobi must deal with."

Naruto glared at the old man. He knew that the things he were saying made sense, but he was set in his mind. The boy crossed his arms over his chest confidently. "Well, I won't have that problem. No ninja will ever make me run away."

Jiraiya smirked at the kid. "Yeah, but a girl may."

Naruto blew a raspberry at his sensei. "As if! I would never be bea-"

The boy froze as the door to the master bedroom burst open. Out stepped Bulma in a brand new attire. The girl was wearing a baby blue tank top and a beige skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. Her hair was in an odango with a strand hanging from each bun.

The turtle hermit noticed the look on the blondes face and chuckled to himself. "Why don't you and Goku go and wash up?" His nose crinkled in disgust. "You're stinking up the whole van!"

"OK!" Goku yelled in glee as he finished chewing the last fish. The boy quickly dropped his clothes then and there, shocking everyone in the room. He ignored the shouts of displeasure and dashed for the wash room. "Are you coming Naruto?" he asked as he reached for the door.

Naruto blushed and turned away. "As if!" he stated defiantly. Goku shrugged and shut the door with a chuckle.

"OK!" Bulma shouted while clapping her hands together. "It's time to continue this trip!"

Naruto watched the girly walk towards the driver's seat. His eyes traveled up and down her figure as she strolled.

"Pick your mouth up Gaki." Naruto flinched and looked towards a smiling Jiraiya.

"Wha? I wasn't-"

The man rose a hand. "Save it," Jiraiya said with a smirk. "I remember my first love too."

The boy looked on with interest. "Really? How did it end?"

The man winced. "She… rejected my advances," he shuddered at the memory, "harshly."

Naruto rose to his feet and stormed towards the bath just as the vehicle engine started up. He gave one last glance towards the girl, only to see his Sensei's smile. With an embarrassed yelp he ran into the room, shutting the door behind him harshly.

He ignored his friends sounds of joy in the bath behind him. His head banged on the door as he realized that he was becoming just like his teacher.

A pervy genin.

XxxoxxX

A silent figure jumped from tree to tree at an impressive speed. The limbs barely bent for he didn't stay on any branch for more than a second.

Onyx eyes glanced worriedly in all directions to aid him in his run. Every sound seemed magnified and put him on edge. He stopped on a thick oak and listened intently. When he heard a twig snap to his left he immediately jumped away. Without slowing he began to go through seals.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

The escapee launched a salvo of flames towards the pursuing figure. With a quick set of seals of his own the enemy shinobi shoved his palms into the ground. A stone wall with bull dogs decorating it sprung from the earth. The fire crashed into the wall at a rapid pace, but he was moving before the wave even hit.

In a flash, he was caught in a heated battle of taijutsu. He dodged the first three punches but was caught in the abs with a knee. His entire body froze from the hit and was shocked as an elbow in the square of his back knocked him flat to the ground. He rolled as quickly as he could and dodged the following heel drop.

His eyes flashed red with both anger and chakra as his kekkei genkai became active. He jumped away from the next kick and batted the following punch. Although he knew that the man was holding back, he was still amazed that he could move so fast! He watched the trajectory of a punch coming his way, grazing his nose as he barely leaned away.

Deciding that being close was no longer safe the boy lunged away. He reached into his pockets and primed a fuma shuriken before releasing them, sending the two in opposite arcs. His opponent deftly blocked them and began his pursuit of the genin. Sasuke yanked back and growled as the man leapt at him with unnatural speed.

A surprised look crossed his opponents face as he ducked and dodged the weapon. He prepared to jump out of the way of the next but was suddenly stiff.

Sasuke smirked as he watched the original shuriken wrap around his opponent. A grunt escaped his throat as a log was destroyed instead of his target. Pure instinct caused him turn with his arms raised, which blocked an incoming slug. The force sent him sliding back, but this time he decided to keep it close.

He feinted with a right hook, but pulled back and sent a left kick. His ankle was caught with ease, the sudden halt in momentum causing his body to jar, but he responded by swinging the other.

"You have to try harder than that," the lazy attacker commented as he blocked it with a forearm. He then ducked under the kick from the smaller fighter and dived away from an onslaught of fireballs. With a flick of his wrist the man was armed and deflected the kunai hidden in the flames. When the last weapon was deflected he noticed that his opponent was no longer there.

"Are we really going to play this game?" he asked aloud.

It didn't take long for him to get his answer.

The sound of a completed seal rang through the wind and was followed by a fireball at least 12 feet in diameter. With a blast of chakra the shinobi jumped into the air. He began to go through seals but was interrupted by a chorus of battle cries.

The falling shinobi was put on the defensive as four similar genin began their assault. The first to attack was quickly dispelled before he could complete his flying kick. The next swung for his face which was blocked, a flick to the forehead defeating the clone. The next two sent simultaneous fire blasts that combined into a larger one.

The moment the man's feet hit the ground he sprung into action. Completing seals at the same time, a slab of stone shot out of the earth. With honed reflexes he flipped away from the ensuing crash, not surprised as kunai shot in his direction.

Despite his contract with the dogs, he seemed more a feline as he twisted in the air and dodged them with little effort, batting away the ones that was too close. He heard a pop as he landed and turned to see three new clones.

"Okay… now you have my attention."

With a hasty shout two clones dashed forward with kunai drawn. The fighter quickly began to dodge and parry, slowly being driven back. After ducking a missed swipe from one he jumped to the side, kicking the kage bunshin in the rear for its effort. As it burst into smoke he immediately leapt forward to dodge a fuma shuriken and threw four kunai that all met another mid flight.

The assault wasn't over however as he was suddenly bombarded from all sides with kunai and shuriken. The man stomped the ground and was surrounded by jagged rocks jutting from the ground. The weapons bounced off of the stone harmlessly.

A clone cautiously approached the structure from the trees. After glancing in he looked back with a shrug. This instantly put them all on high alert.

The real Sasuke sat in a tree a few yards away. He was plotting and planning a way to beat this foe. The man was stronger and faster than him, but there had to be a way!

"You should've picked a better tree!"

Sasuke started when he heard the voice behind him. He stumbled backwards off of the limb but reflexively landed on his feet. An annoyed groan escaped his throat as he landed awkwardly on his left ankle.

"Aaaaaaand this is where we stop." Sasuke hissed as a kunai was placed at his throat. "You're dead."

An exhausted sigh left Sasuke as he fel to the ground in exhaustion. He and Kakashi had been sparring for the entire day. The Jonin said it was to build stamina but the Uchiha knew better. The sensei simply loved to torture his students.

"Well Sasuke, I would point out your flaws, but with your eyes I'm sure you saw them yourself."

Sasuke grit his teeth as he glared at the man whom was now reading a book from God knows where. He didn't need him to point out every flaw he made, he knew that he wasn't perfect!

"But, I suppose it's fair to say that you've improved immensely." The Uchiha glanced up at this. "Your reflexes are improving and your body is slowly catching up to your eyes."

He was right of course. It was clear that he could dodge much more then he could before. In the first few days he was beaten relentlessly with little effort by his teacher. Now he could last at most ten minutes on a good day.

"Tomorrow, my cute student," a pause as he flipped a page in the book, "you will be learning a new technique."

The eyes of the boy widened at that. His mind instantly began to go over the attacks that his sensei possessed. He as well as everyone else knew that he copied over a thousand techniques, but he was the only that really understood why that was possible. And if he could learn that much, if Sasuke started now he could double that.

"Oh, and by the way," Kakashi said while still reading, "I heard that Naruto is doing pretty well."

Sasuke tensed up at the mention of his teammate. Of course he wondered how the Dobe was doing. He was training with a Sannin, after all, and Jiraiya at that. He read many reports of the man in the Uchiha archives.

The man was a friend of the clan and saved dozens of lives in the line of duty. One of his father's reports speak of the two getting ambushed by a gang of S ranked missing nin and barely surviving thanks to the hidden strength the man possessed.

Kakashi continued speaking. "He took on a B ranked shinobi and actually won."

The body of the Uchiha noticeably tended at this. Naruto was actually progressing, and maybe as fast as him! He was secretly impressed by the brat's progress. In the few months since they'd left the academy the boy went from a dead last to a surprisingly reliable ally.

But defeating a B ranked shinobi? It must be the training from the Sannin that did it, he was sure of it.

Sasuke forced himself to his feet, getting into his fighting stance. If there was one thing that he would prevent at any cost, it was letting that idiot be stronger than him. His eyes flashed red as a growl escaped his throat.

"Again!" he yelled as he charged at his sighing sensei.

"Perfect," Kakashi whispered with a hidden smirk as he got on the defensive.

XxxoxxX

"Is... is that fire?" Bulma asked. The group was looking towards a mountain that seemed to be covered in... well, fire.

"So it seems," Master Roshi said. "I wonder what caused it."

"Maybe there was a great battle here," Naruto piped in. "Maybe it's still going on!" His face was instantly pressed to the windshield. "I wanna seeeeeee!"

"I doubt it," Jiraiya responded as he stared straight ahead, his head resting on his palm. "I don't sense anything unusual happening."

As the group got closer to the mountain they could really see the magnitude of the flames. The fire consumed an entire mountain!

"I hope that student of mine is alright..." Roshi mumbled in a grim tone.

Jiraiya pat the old man on the back. "You know that a little fire won't hurt him. He could probably take me on, on a bad day of course."

"Well, we can stop right here, because I'm not getting the RV close enough to fry the tires!" Bulma yelled as she came to a halt.

"Bet ya I'll beat you to the Dragon Ball!" Naruto yelled as he took off in a sprint.

"You're on!" Goku shouted back as he took off behind him. Bulma burst through the door behind them.

"Wait guys! You forgot your sunscreen!" She sighed as she saw the boys didn't slow down one bit. "Well, do you guys need any-"

Bulma turned towards the old men and saw both of them laying with their shirts off. "Yes!"

Bulma shuddered as she looked at the duo. She quickly ran off, throwing he capsule and hopping upon her motor scooter. "Goku! Naruto! Wait up!"

XxxoxxX

"What are we going to do, Yamcha?" the small blue feline, Puar, asked his friend.

"We wait," Yamcha responded. He smirked as he watched the boys leaving the stopped vehicle. "We just have to get the girl all alone."

"Do you know the old men?" Puar asked with curiousity.

Yamcha nodded. "The bald one is Master Roshi." A frown crossed his face. "He may be the most powerful man in the world, possibly. He is the creator of the Kamehameha wave, one of the most deadly tchniques in the world. The other is Jiraiya, Sannin of the Leaf Village. He's the student of Master Roshi and the current Hokage, as well as the teacher of the late Fourth Hokage."

Puar started sweating. "So... you can't win?"

Yamcha shook his head. "Not at all." The cat fell out of the air and landed on his head. "BUT I know their weakness." A smile spread on his face. "All it's gonna take is a little help from you Puar."

Puar rose, rubbing the forming bruise as he stared at the bandit. The look he was giving him was beyond disturbing.

The cat shook as the bandit stepped towards him. When he knelt and whispered in the cat's ears, the feline's eyes widened.

"Y-You want me to wh-what!?"

XxxoxxX

And I know a crappy way to end it, but I feel like you guys waited long enough so here you go. I wanted to add another scene but I just got off of work so… I'll add it to next chapter.

So, review, fav, follow, flame. If anyone wants to be an editor, PM me. I'll explain more in detail there.

Thanks, sorry for the wait.

Signed,

Me