A strange beginning

by Firecarryer

Life changes for young Naruto when he discovers, at a very early age, that contains the Nine-Tailed fox. But unlike his older self, this one seeks companionship from the Fox, who responds in kind. Bit of a bad summary, but short note is, Fem-kyubi helps raise Naruto. Kyubi is very OOC. Rated T to be safe.

11. Chapter 11

Well, like I promised here's another chapter. I have another couple edited so they'll pop up over the next couple of days before there's another dry spell. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Team 7 stood on the balcony, listening to the Third lecture everyone about how the exams were a substitue for war, while Kakashi stood behind them reading his book. Naruto glanced to his right and smiked a bit. "It's awesome that that all the rookies made it." He thought with glee. "Shows all those other genin who thought we'd be easy targets. I'm really glad Kabuto's team passed after all the trouble they got into helping us."

"You were all impressive." Kurama agreed, softly praising all three of Team 7. "Especially given who you survived."

Naruto grimaced, albeit more from being tired and rueful rather than from pain, as did Sasuke and Hianta. The three were still feeling the effects of the previous exam. Kakashi had looked worried when he'd seen the curse mark on Sasuke's neck, and had warned Sasuke not to use the power it offered. The rest of Team 7 had adamantly agreed, which Sasuke wasn't happy about until Hinata had Sakura reminded him of his borderline, "I am a god!" speech and having to intervene. Sasuke had gone a bit red at the reminder of her intervention, and had dropped the subject. Hinata was still sore from her medical treatment, but she had been well enough to help fix what damage had been done to Naruto's seal. He still couldn't access all his chakra, and Kurama had to work to be heard but it was an improvement over a few days ago.

The proctor for the third round of the exams, Hayate, cleared his throat weakly and coughed a few times before announcing, "Now, I know you all have just had a rought time getting out of the second round of the exam but the truth is, more of you passed than we thought would. So before we move onto the third round of the exam, we need to have preliminary matches."

"Preliminaries? Why?" Kiba demanded. "We all worked hard to get here!"

"You heard the Hokage. The final rounds are only for the best of the best." Hayate coughed violently before continuing, "You've all done a great job making it this far but we need to make sure only the best make it to the final rounds. So, before we begin the random selection to who will be fighting, is there anyone who doesn't feel well enough to continue?"

There was a brief moment of tense silence, followed by Kabuto stepping forward and raising a hand. "Sorry, I'm bowing out. I got hurt in the Forrest, and I'm not well enough to risk fighting this time around."

Naruto frowned at that. Kabuto trained as a medic. He could heal anything that had already happened to himself. Why would he drop out? Kurama supplied instead, "Remember, he failed a bunch of times getting here. He isn't a combat type. He'll work to promoted on the basis that he knew to drop out and run, rather than fight a fight he couldn't win."

There was a short pause, in which Kurama admonished, "No Sasuke, he's not just weak. Don't ever think a medic is weak, especially when you end up fighting on the front lines."

Sasuke flinched a little at that but didn't comment beyond that. Hayate coughed and called out, "Anyone else want to quit? No? Then the matches will now be randomly selected now. Keep your eyes in the monitor."

All eyes went to the monitor on the wall. It was filled with static for a moment, before flipping rapidly between all the genin's portraits. When they finally stopped, two portraits stood side by side. Sasuke, and a boy from Kabuto's team.

"Sasuke Uchiha vs Yoroi Akado. Would you two please make your way to the fighting ring?" Hayate called.

Sasuke nodded and stopped only when Kakashi spoke a soft warning. "Sasuke, that curse mark will activate if you use your Sharingan. If that happens, I'll be forced to stop the match. You can't use any chakra."

Sasuke nodded stiffly, and Naruto and Hinata looked anxiously on as Sasuke lept over the railing, landing across from the black cloaked teammate of Kabuto, who greeted Sasuke with a smirk. "This won't take long." He promsed the proctor.

Sasuke smiled coldly. "You're right."

"Begin!" Hayate ordered before retreating back.

Sasuke moved instantly, striking at Yoroi with a swift kick that should have caught the genin in the face. Instead, it was caught with a glowing hand, and Sasuke flinched back, his shoulders shaking as he pulled away. Yoroi's smirk never faltered. "You're out of luck Uchiha. I can drain your chakra with a touch of my hand. You can't do a thing against me."

"Your hand touches me, I lose charka?" Sasuke clarified. Yoroi nodded. Sasuke laughed outright at that, harsh and mocking. "You are an idiot."

Yoroi flinched a little, shocked by Sasuke's response. "You think you can beat me 'cause I can't be touched by your hand?" Sasuke's voice was cold, as he fell into a different fighting stance. "I train with a Hyuga dumb ass."

The match was over with that statement. When Yoroi took a swing again, Sasuke moved around it, like a willow bending in the breeze, before his hand found the other genin's face. Yoroi stumbled back, before Sasuke followed with a kick to the older boy's stomach. The next kick caught the boy in the groin, with a knee to the face following, another kick to the diaphram, and a quick snap of the heel of Sasuke's foot striking Yoroi in the bridge of the nose. The barely conscious older genin stumbled back, hands to his face, eyes blind from pain until a quick spin of a kick caught his temple and left him knocked out.

Everyone took a moment to stare, wincing at the simple beatdown that had occured. Hayate cleared his throat and announced, "Winner by knockout, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Great job Sasuke!" Naruto cheered, with Hinata smiling and waving from the balcony.

"Good job Sasuke-kun." Sakura told him once Sasuke had climbed back up with the group, having shuffled herself over to stand with Team 7. Kurenei had moved her team over, letting the six genin stand together, while she talked with Asuma behind Team 10.

"Good job Sasuke." Kakashi said from beind softly. "We should probaly go now, and deal with that mark."

Sasuke shook his head at that. "No sensei. Please, not yet." Everyone froze at that. Sasuke, saying please? To Kakashi? "I'd like to see my teammates fight. And I want a good look at the competition. My chakra didn't go down that much, I should be safe."

"You can't use your Sharingan." Kakashi warned.

"And I won't." Sasuke promsed. "And I'll leave after Naruto and Hinata have gone if you want me to. But we should watch them go."

Kakashi gave an eye smile at that, but dind't comment immediately. "Well, if you want to Sasuke. We'll give it a few."

The next match started while they were talking, Shino against that freak from the Sound team, Zaku. His arms were both in slings, courtesy of Sasuke, but Naruto still felt like jumping over the edge and throttling him. "Don't." Kurama said softly. "I know how you feel. I share the sentiment. But getting disqualified won't help, and it will insult your friend if you interfere now. Watch. I think he'll surprise you. I remember the Aburame. They are more skilled than anyone realises."

Hinata moved closer to Naruto, telling him quietly, "Sh-Shino-san didn't help w-with the fighting because he was keeping Kiba safe. He could have taken on any of the Sound shinobi if they came close. Do not worry about him. He is quite good at what he does."

Naruto nodded, flashing Hinata a grin. "Ok Hinata-chan. I believe you. I can't wait to see him kick that freak's ass."

The match didn't take long, with Zaku's arms not really being broken but the holes he shot air out of being blocked by Shino's bugs. All the Konoha genin cheered, and Naruto told him when he got up, "Great job Shino."

"It was a simple battle. I saw all I needed to counter him when Sakura fought him." Shino shrugged, pushing his glasses up. "Praise is not needed. But it is still appreciated, thank you."

The next match was quick too, with one of the Sand genin, Kankorou, fighting one of Kabuto's teammates. The Konoha genin had some sort of jutsu that let him be super flexible but it didn't do anything against Kanorou's puppets. Naruto made a note to keep an eye out for that puppet, since it was very versitile, and deadly in close quarters. With that match over, the fourth match was slated to begin.

The screen flashed, and suddenly both Ino and Sakura's faces flashed on screen. Naruto was surprised at this, knowing that Konoha genin would have to fight but really surrpised that Sakura and Ino, two long time rivals would have to fight. As Sakura passed, Naruto told her, "Good luck Sakura."

Sakura nodded, flashing him a worried smile as she squeezed by. As she passed though, Sasuke stopped her gently. "I can't wait to face you in the finals." He told her softly. "And I don't think you need any luck to get there."

Sakura's mouth dropped open, and hers wasn't the only one. Sakura went red, and Sasuke did a bit too, but Sakura nodded and moved onto the field with a lot more confidence in her step.

Sasuke turned to Naruto, who was standing there slackjawed, and his blush depeend and he struggled to speak. Kurama intervened, stating. "Don't worry Sasuke, we wouldn't dream of teasing you. That was a good thing you did." Naruto and Hinata both nodded, the former rather frantically, much to everyone else's confusion.

Naruto turned his attention to the fight, wondering who would win. Ino wasn't in as good of shape as Sakura, but Ino had much more hand to hand training, and her family jutsu at her disposal. Both had really good chakra control, so that shouldn't play a huge role in the fight... "Quit wondering and just watch." Kurama chided him gently. "We aren't taking bets. And no, that wasn't a suggestion."

Naruto pouted but watched. Sakura did her obvious first play, creating a set of five purely illusion Clones before vanishing in a genjutsu. Ino countered by breaking the genjutsu on herself with a swift burst of chakra before turning and exchanging blows with Sakura, both of whom were channeling chakra into their movements and strikes to try and throw the other off balance. Both were shockingly silent during the fight, but Ino's anger was palpable to the entire audience over Sasuke's comment.

Ino managed to snare Sakura in a trap using her hair to force Sakura to stand still, and used her Mind Transfer jutsu to force Sakura to surrender. In response, Sakura wavered for a mintue before starting to raise her hand in surrender, only for Ino to cry out in pain. Ino's real body started moving, and the blonde girl shot upright and accused Sakura, "What the hell was that?"

Sakura just grinned. "A girl's got to have her secrets." Before darting towards Ino. "Let's finish this!"

Ino shot up too, and shot herself forward to intercept Sakura. Both shot forward in blurs, both with their fists out in wild haymaker punches. Naruto wasn't the only one who winced when a resounding crack filled the air, as both Ino and Sakura struck each other in the jaw. Both girls fell back from the impact, eyes rolling into the back of their Kurenei and Asuma Flickered down to intercept their falling students. The medical-nin rushed in then, giving each girl a once over before just shaking their heads. "Just knocked out."

Hayate looked at both girls and shrugged. "A tie, double knock out. Neither girl will proceed onto the next stage."

That earned some surprise from the group, but no one challenged it. Sasuke looked dissapointed, but Naruto stated, "She fought well, and fought hard because she wanted to impress you. You helped give her confidence. Even if she didn't win, she did her best. You should mention that to her when she wakes up."

"Should I? I don't want her to be upset or think I'm just trying to comfort her..." Sasuke murmered.

"Sasuke, if you told Sakura good job she'd be floating on cloud nine for weeks." Naruto said dryly. "Just talk to her later. You owe her that if nothing else."

"Fine. I will. But that's all there is, ok? I respect that she's done a good job, and that I'm sorry she didn't make it to the finals." Sasuke insisted.

"A good thing to say. Might I suggest you do it over a lunch together? It would be more comfortable for her." Kurama suggested. "Now, I believe they are announcing the next match."

The monitor had stopped flashing, leaving Naruto and Kiba's pictures up on the board. Kiba grinned and hopped down, exclaiming, "Come on Akimaru. This is an easy fight."

"Easy? Really?" Naruto called, annoyed as he jumped down as well. "I really want to know, what is it you do on your team? I mean, Akimaru is both the brains, brawn and skill between the two of you, so do you just translate or what?"

Hayate coughed but this time it sounded like he was covering a laugh. "Fourth match, begin."

Kiba barely waited for Hayate's arm to come down before he launched himself into an attack. He dove forward, spinning rapidly until he resembled a human drill and slammed right into Naruto's chest. Naruto flew across the room, slamming into the concrete wall and releasing a massive cloud of dust. "See? That was easy." Kiba gloated. "What a loser, went down with one hit!"

Everyone stared in shock, both at how quickly and how hard Kiba had hit. What surprised them more was a quiet groan that came from the wall, and the gut-twisting noise that followed as Naruto pulled himself out of it. "Ok. Ow." Naruto said, pulling himself out of the wall and cracking his neck. "That hurt. My turn now?"

Kiba's mouth dropped open. "You... What... How?" He demanded.

"Easy. You're a wimp." Naruto told him with a cheeky grin. "Come on dog breathe. Let's see what you can do when I'm ready."

Naruto took Kiba's stunned look as ready and dashed forward, catching Kiba with a left hook across the face. Kiba stumbled back a few steps before growling, "Ok Akimaru. Let's take him down."

Naruto just grinned and threw down a smoke bomb, much to everyone's sutprise. Kiba just jeered, "That won't hide you. Akimaru and I can smell where you are. Go get him boy!"

Akimaru barked in confrimation and lept into the smoke cloud. There was a yelp from Naruto, a lot of scuffling noise and finally, a whine from Akimaru followed by a triumphant howl. The smoke starting to clear, there stood Akimaru on top of an unconscious Naruto.

"Heh, there's a good boy Akimaru." Kiba told him triumphantly. "You did a good job. I can't wait for the smoke to clear so everyone can see this."

Akimaru suddenly looked at Kiba and growled. Kiba froze. "Akimaru? What's-"

Akimaru lept at him then, teeth biting hard into his arm. Kiba flung him off in surprise before demanding, "Akimaru? What are you doing?"

Kiba saw the last of the somke clear and there stood a second Naruto, holding a hog tied Akimaru in his arms. Paws were tied, front together and back together, as well as being muzzled and then having his front knots tied to his back nots. The dog was conpletely immodbilised.

The Naruto on the floor unconscious disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the Akimaru who bit Kiba suddenly did as well, before becoming a Naruto with a disgusted face. "Jeez Kiba, I call you dog breathe mockingly but your coat tastes awful. Don't you ever bathe?"

Kiba snarled and pushed his fingers together. "Ninja Art; Human Beast Transformation!" Naruto stared in shock as Kiba suddenly became more primal looking, his nails growing out into claws and his incisors showing, as well as his hair getting scruffier. "You'll want to let Akimaru go before I make you." Kiba promised.

"Nah, I'll leave him where he is. I like Akimaru, and the safest place for him is out of the battle." Naruto turned to his Bunshin, telling it, "Take Akimaru and hide. Doesn't matter where, just somewhere in the arena. I don't want him getting hurt cause Kiba doesn't know what he's doing."

"That does it!" Kiba snarled as he charged forward. "Passing Fang!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he lept into the air over Kiba's attack. The previous attack had been quick, with Kiba spinning and charging forward but this? This as a whole new level. Kiba had easily doubled in speed and where he connected with the wall, he gauged out chunks of cement. "Get Akimaru to safety now." Naruto ordered the Bushin before leaping into the air to dodge another attack.

Kiba's attack seemed based on launching himself and acting like a pinball across the arena, picking up speed. Naruto dodged the first few easily but it was growing more and more difficult to keep out of the way. Time to get serious.

Naruto landed after his next dodge and pulled out a kunai with a seal attatched to the tail end. He threw it into the air, as hard as he could until it lodged itself into the roof. As Kiba charged forward, Naruto stared back at him without any sign of moving.

No one in the audience was quite certain what happened at first, because it didn't make much sense at first glance. Kiba slammed into Naruto at full speed, tearing into him and ripping off chunks of flesh. Next, Naruto was gone and a deafening explosion filled the air, along with a bright flash and foul smelling smoke. The smoke then disapeared, revealing a small scroll on a kunai and Kiba lying unconscious, face contorted in pain and a kunai on the ground beside him, and Naruto waving from the roof.

Naruto dropped down and knelt in front of Kiba. "Good, just knocked out. I was worried that would be too much, with his nose and ears but doesn't look like he's hurt. Smoke's harmless everyone; just rotten eggs. Smells really strong at close range, so I figured it would knock him out. Better have a medic-nin check him out just in case." With that, Naruto spun around for a second, before snapping his fingers. "Right, sorry. Ok, let Akimaru go now."

Much to everyone's surprise, Naruto's bunshin lept out from behind the Hokage, giving the old man a quick bow before landing back in the arena and letting Akimaru go. Akimaru gave it a hard bite on the arm, dispelling it and barking angrilly but Naruto just shrugged. "Look, I didn't want to hit you with that smoke. Look what it did to Kiba, and he smells way worse than you." Akimaru barked and Naruto rolled his eyes. "Come on, I've made that joke three times now; I know he stinks. Jokes aside, my point still stands. Can we call it even since you bit my Bunshin?" Akimaru gave a grumbly whine but padded over to his owner, while the medical-nin scowled as they watched Naruto walk away and carried Kiba out.

His team greeted him when he came up, Hinata congragulating him, Sasuke grunting but giving a small grin, and Kakashi flashed him an eye-smile. "Good job Naruto. That was well thought out, substituting yourself with the kunai on the roof. Though out of curiousity, why do you carry a scroll full of sulfer smoke?"

Naruto suddenly looked very sheepish, and he admitted, "I didn't mean to, but when you said no pranking while I was under you, I decided to test out my sealing scrolls with my old prank equipment. You know, paint bombs, rotten eggs broken up and made into smoke, the works? I figured since I can't use them anymore, no harm done if I lose them during the sealing. I practiced sealing them away, and then I tried to make a vacuum seal in case we ever get gassed or something, right? And I wanted something I could tell was gone, so I used the sulfur smoke. I just accidently grabbed a full scroll when I was packing, found it while we were in the woods, and thought I could use it as a distraction tag if I combined it with a flashbang. Turns out that it knocks out Inzuka in Beast Form really well."

"That's an important weakness you discovered." Kakashi told Naruto. "You might want to show that vacuum scroll to the Hokage and make it a standard part of the tracker team's kits. We don't want to lose trackers to a rotten egg or worse."

Naruto flinched a little at that. "I guess I shouldn't have used it at a chunin exam then, huh?" He asked worriedly.

"No, that won't make a huge difference." Kakashi assured him. "It could have happened at any time Naruto. Anyone who's ever met or fought against an Inzuka knows how sensitive their noses are. Someone would have come up with a smoke bomb of some sort that knocks them out specifically. Now, the next match should be starting. Pay attention."

The next match was Temari vs Tenten, and it was sadly short. Temari was a powerful wind user, and her fan easy blew away Tenten's weapons and eventually led to Gai's student being slammed against a wall by a powerful blast of wind. Temari put her fan away and sneered, "Well that was pathetic. Aren't there any Konoha girls that can put up a fight?" She spat at Tenten as she walked back up, and it was to her insane good fortune that she missed actually hitting the girl.

Team 7 seemed to scowl almost on cue, and Gai had to restrain Lee from jumping down and killing Temari for her treatment of Tenten. All the Konoha shinobi were very angry and wary of the Sand shinobi, who seemed to be particularily violent and almost sadistic at times. When the next match was called as Shikimaru vs Kin, it was almost a relief.

Naruto had worried that the lazy genius would lose, given he was at the disadvantage of not knowing what Kin could do but she knew about his abilities. He needn't have worried though; even after Kin tried using a genjutsu through her bells, Shikimaru still snagged her with his shadow and leaned back against the wall, knocking her out quickly. It was over swiftly and painlessly and Shikimaru hadn't even had to move from his spot to do it.

What was announced next though stopped Naruto's blood cold as two new names came up on the board. "Neji Hyuga vs Hinata Hyuga." Hayate announced with a cough.

(Nothing Else Seems to Work)

Hinata felt her heart catch in her throat as she tried to make for the stairs. Behind her, she knew Kakashi and Gai were exchanging worried looks and the proctor looked a heartbeat away from jumping between her and her cousin but none of that mattered. Her body moving on automatic, she proceeded down the stairs the whole time staring at Neji.

Her cousin also decended down the stairs, but at a controlled pace, with a confident smirk on his face. Even as he was, just walking, he radiated the same cold power that he had when he had trained her. Such power, and all about to be directed at her.

Hayate coughed and cleared his throat. "Neji Hyuga vs Hinata Hyuga. You may begin when ready." Hayate stepped clear, although he didn't go very far as he let the match begin.

Hinata stood there, frozen, barely registering that the match had started. She could catually feel herself shaking, and she knew her cousin had noticed. "Hinata." Neji told her with a certain amount of glee in his voice. "Before we begin, I will offer you one bit of advice. Give up. It is your fate to lose here. A loser like you cannot hope to defeat me."

Hinata tried to swallow but couldn't. Her mouth was too dry, and her throat to tight. She knew it was true. She should just surrender now, and get it out of the way. She looked at the proctor, and her mouth was about to open when a familiar voice demanded, "What did you say?"

All eyes turned to Naruto, who was leaning over the railing and all but spitting fire at Neji. "What did you call her asshole?"

Neji gave Naruto a disgusted look. "You watch your tone." He said, his voice icy. "You will respect your betters. You are weak, and a loser, just like her. It is your fate. There is nothing you can do to change it."

"Like hell she is!" Naruto snapped. "Don't you say a thing like that to Hinata! She's worth a hundred of you, even if you are some sort of "genius"! Don't you dare let him make you give up Hinata! Kick his ass!"

Hinata looked up at Naruto, who was quivering with rage over her being insulted, and felt a warm glow of pride blossom. Naruto thought she could do it. Naruto thought she could win.

Hinata stood up straighter, and she forced herself to stop shaking. She flashed chakra into her eyes, and told Neji, "I'm afraid I can't back out now, Neji-niisan. I have come too far, worked too hard to give up now. I owe it to my team." She paused for a minute, and quietly added, "I owe it to myself."

Neji scoffed. "Owe it? Owe what, exactly? You will lose, and further disgrace the Main House. But if you want to lose so badly, then feel free. What happens here is beyond my control." Neji's own eyes flashed and he lowered himself into his fighting stance. And without warning, he charged.

Hinata had barely enough time to react, ducking gracefully under a strike meant to hit her in the face and respond with one of her own. She had once heard that when two fighters were very skilled, it looked more like a dance than a fight. And a dance was the only way she could describe how this felt. Ducking, dodging, twisting, leaning, striking, sidestepping, sliding back, sliding forward... And as their dance went on, Hinata came to an important conclusion.

She couldn't win.

She could feel as the battle went on, feel her own skill pale in comparison to Neji. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what progress she had made, she was still leagues behind her cousin, a true genius in the Hyuga art. She was going to lose.

Naruto believed she could win.

But she couldn't fight this. She deflected another of Neji's attacks, only just and started to stumble from overextending. Neji took the opening and his hand shot for her side.

Naruto believed in her.

Hinata spun and countered the strike, catching Neji on the wrist before following up with a strike to the arm. Neji bit back a curse and Hinata could feel the sudden shift with that strike. She had landed a hit. She had properly, finally landed a hit on Neji. Naruto was right. She could do this. She co-

Pain flashed from Hinata's shoulder as a brief wave of killing intent flashed from Neji and his cold eyes bore into her. Another blow struck her in the stomach, sending her reeling back where she collapsed to her knees, barely able to breathe. She couldn't win. She had struck a blow, not only to Neji's arm but his pride when she landed that hit. She, the worst the Hyuga clan had to offer, had struck a blow to the genius.

She looked up and Neji's cold eyes had ceased radiating anger as he composed himself. "This match is over." He said softly. "You can't use chakra anymore."

Hinata felt his gaze on her arms and followed suit, flinching as she saw the tiny burn marks all the way down. Even during a battle, he had sealed her chakra nodes. She looked up as Neji called to the proctor, "Proctor-san, end this farce. She can't fight anymore."

Hinata shook her head, slowly forcing herself to her feet. "No." She said quietly. She heard people gasp as she stood, legs slightly bent and arms in her fighting possition, and she stared defiantly at her cousin "This isn't over."

Neji scowled, glaring at her openly now. "What is this? You can't fight; you can barely stand! You're not going to win!" He stalked forward, not even bothering with his fighting stance, and shoved her backwards. "What are you going to do? You can't use your chakra!"

Hinata just looked back firmly, and struck back with her open palms. Neji hit her once in the arm, and then stumbled as she grazed his shoulder, even without the chakra to back up the strike. He struck at her again, and this one hurt, and caused her to falter. But she wouldn't give up. She couldn't.

Naruto believed in her.

Hinata stumbled forward, feeling her body starting to give again and she cursed herself as she tried to force herself to keep going. Neji barely managed to counter a desperate swing on her end, before pushing her back with another chakra strike to her torso. "You can barely stand! Just give up!" Neji snapped. "Or do you want me to kill you?"

"I won't give up." Hinata rasped, hating how weak her voice sounded but she stood, shaking but not giving an inch.

"Why? What will it change? You're a loser Hinata!" Neji snarled. "You've lost."

"No, Neji. It isn't me who is the loser." Hinata said softly. "I never have been. It is you who have lost, both who you are and who you'll become. And when the time comes for you to realise it, you will blame it on fate, when it is you who lost it. I will not surrender to you. I will die first."

Neji's glare became a pure, naked hatred and he couldn't hold back his killing intent this time. "If you want me to kill you," He snarled, "Then fine! I'll oblidge!" He charged forward again, and Hinata had nothing left to stop him as his hand shot forward, aiming for her heart. Hinata closed her eyes, waiting for the hit, already seeing Kakashi and the other jonin start to move. But they would be too late.

Pain lanced through her chest and she fell, her eyes closing. There it was. She had always known this would happen. Maybe now, her life could be of worth to the clan. "Sorry Naruto." She said, or tried to as blood spewed out of her mouth. She tried to cough, once, twice, and when that failed she knew no more.

(Nothing Else Seems to Work)

Naruto stared in shock, hands gripping the railing as medics rushed to treat Hinata. Blood was bubbling in her mouth, and she looked so small next to all the medical-nin who were treating her. Neji was currently being restrained by Kakashi, Gai, Kurenei and Asuma, while being given a dressing down by the proctor.

Naruto couldn't hear what was being said, didn't care as he lept down to where Hinata was being treated, Sasuke not far behind. "Hinata!" He called desperately, about to push close when two hands pulled him back.

"Don't get in their way idiot!" Sasuke snapped at him in a tight voice. Naruto shot him an angry look, until he noticed Sasuke was shaking, and the seal on his neck was starting to pulse.

"I'm worried about her too." Sasuke admitted. "But we'll just get in the way. Even if we're worried about her, we can't help."

Naruto wasn't worried. He was scared to death that Hinata was going to die. And he was angry.

And he knew what to do with anger.

He turned around, looked at where Neji was restrained, and stepped forward. Hayate noticed immediately, and said, "Naruto, step back. If you attack him now, you'll be disquallified."

Naruto looked up at the proctor, and then back at Neji. And he let out all the killing intent he was feeling.

Hayate stumbled back, stunned by the sudden onslaught. Naruto didn't care, a kunai in hand as Neji stood there, now frozen under the new feeling as Naruto stepped forward. This wasn't Kurama's feelings mixed in, this wasn't her chakra amplifying the feeling. This was every ounce of anger Naruto had ever felt, levelled at a single human being. The first time he'd actually wanted to kill someone with his bare hands in cold blood. The jonin had actually released Neji and were reading to defend themselves and the other genin, save Garra, were all pinned by this new promise of death.

"Just disquallified? I can live with that." Naruto snarled. "Let me at him. I'm going to rip him to shreds!"

"Naruto! Don't!" Kurama screamed in his head. "If you let me out like this..."

"That's enough Naruto." Kakashi's voice appeared behind him, gently but firmly pulling Naruto away from Neji.

"No it's not! Let me at him, he deserves it!" Naruto snarled.

"Maybe he does. But you don't." Kakashi told him firmly. "You do this, and you'll never forgive yourself. You can't kill him, not in the heat of your anger. He is still a citizen of the Leaf. You won't kill him."

Naruto bit back a scream of frustration, and Neji managed a defiant smirk. Kakashi met Neji's gaze, and the boy wilted at the pressure behind it. "No Naruto." Kakashi said softly. "You're going to give him what he deserves. You're going to face Neji in the finals, and you're going to beat him. You, the dead last rookie, will beat down the Hyuga genius in front of everyone to see. It is now his fate to lose, and to be humiliated in front of two nations, for all to see. That is what he deserves."

Naruto forced himself to breathe calmly, before nodding and heading for the door. "I'm going to see Hinata." Naruto stated.

"She's in surgery." Kakashi warned him. "You can't go in."

"I'll wait outside." Naruto called back, not even turning around. Kakashi sighed and shook his head, before turning to make sure he didn't have to stop Sasuke from going on a revenge rampage too.

He needn't have worried. Somewhere along the line, Sakura had woken up, probably during Hinata's match, and was currently standing beside Sasuke, horrified and on the verge of tears as she clung to his arm. And the Uchiha genius didn't seem to know what do to, but he wasn't in a rush to remove her. The mark on his neck had died down as well, although Kakashi still wanted to seal it as soon as possible. The masked jonin glanced at the arena, a familiar tired dread coming over him. Naruto and Sasuke would need information, and need it perfectly memorized. Kakashi had been discretely watching with his Sharingan from time to time, but this was the battle to watch, as Gaara decended the stairs and stood across from Lee. Kakashi raised his headband and allowed himself to take in the battle. He would need to remember this as perfectly as he could manage, and then seal Sasuke so he could keep an eye on both his students in the hospital. He just hoped Naruto didn't cause a problem while he was there.

(Nothing Else Seems to Work)

Naruto sat as still as he could manage outside of Hinata's door, eyes raking over everyone that walked by. She had been out of surgery for two hours, and in that time had lay as still as the dead in her room. The medical-nin watching over her hadn't said a word of protest when Naruto placed himself on guard outside of her room, nor did they ignore or sneer at any of his questions. Whether that was because this was a better group of medics, his inquireries were about his teammate or the fact that he sometimes slipped and levelled a room with his killing intent he didn't know, nor did Naruto truly care right now. All he cared about was how hurt was Hinata, and how could he help.

There was nothing he could do to help, short of just doing what he was doing; stand guard over her door. If the visitor wasn't a medical-nin, deny them entrance. Naruto had already placed half a dozen seals on the window to Hinata's room to keep people out that way, and he was currently sitting with a seal a blink away from alerting every ANBU guarding the hospital if something happened. So Naruto sat, keeping his eyes on passing people and pulling metal slivers out of his hands, all the while cursing how weak the metal on the railings actually was.

"You will need to work on your control. That railing was no longer safe, and everyone around you could hear the metal groan." Kurama warned.

"I'd rather the railing suffer than anything else." Naruto replied, grimacing as the latest shard tore through the skin a little to come out. "Kakashi said he would stop by once Sasuke woke up right?"

"Yes, and if I'm right, he's coming right about now. And Sasuke's room is right beside Hinata's." Kurama reminded him. "Ah, good Sasuke. You're feeling much better, and your thoughts are clearer."

Sasuke didn't reply, probably because he was just approaching Naruto, and Kakashi was right beside him. Both sat down beside Naruto, who spared a moment to glance over at Sasuke and confirm, "Evil hickey under control?"

"It's not a hickey." Sasuke grumbled, rubbing his neck. "But yeah, under control."

"Good. So, anything important happen while I was gone? How's Lee doing?" Naruto asked.

"He's... It's not looking good Naruto." Kakashi admitted. "He might never be able to walk again. His career as a shinobi is done."

"What? What did he do? What did Gaara do?" Naruto demanded.

"Lee opened the Inner Gates." Kakashi told him. "And let this serve as a warning to you both; the Inner Gates are dangerous. They are your body's inhibitors to make sure chakra flows normally through your body. There are eight in total, and each time you open the next level you do more damage. Lee opened up to the fifth, and did a lot of damage to his body before Gaara crushed his leg. He's lucky to be alive."

Naruto swallowed and shook his head. "Damn it." He muttered, clenching his hand. "I should have warned him. He might not have..."

"Warned him of what?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Gaara... Gaara's like me." Naruto admitted. "Kurama felt something off when we met him, and she remembered the feel of his chakra. He has a demon sealed in him too. She thinks it's the One Tail."

Kakashi let out a slow whistle. "That... Complicates things." He admitted.

"Why?" Sasuked asked, sneer in place though it looked more habitual now than purely arrogant. "I've beaten you before Naruto, what's the difference?"

"Sasuke, you've beaten me. You've never fought Kurama." Naruto pointed out. "Demons are a whole new level of power. If Kurama had free reign over my body, I could go toe to toe with Kakashi sensei for a while before I won. I did go toe to toe with Orochimaru for a minute the last time I let her out. That's a hell of a step up. Gaara isn't stable and seems to have complete access to his demon's chakra. That makes him very dangerous. He'll come at you full strength and very little could stop him."

"I thought Gaara just had a modified version of his father's jutsu." Kakashi admitted. "But that means that Sasuke's training has to be upped, imensely."

"Why? Is Sasuke fighting him?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Oh, right, you missed that part." Kakashi shook his head. "Sorry, lots on my mind. You're fighting Neji in the first round, and Sasuke's the last round with Gaara. You'll have one month to train to put on a good show."

Naruto nodded, not looking surprised. Sasuke looked back at the door they were sitting in front of, and asked, "Naruto, what are you going to do? I mean, I'll need to train with Kakashi-sensei and so will you but..."

"You need your Sharingan skills perfected to give you an advantage over Gaara." Naruto agreed. "And Kakashi-sensei is the only one who can do that. I'll train the best I can, and sit here for the rest of the time."

"Naruto, Hinata will be under ANBU guard, you don't need-" Kakashi started until Naruto cut him off.

"You'd do the same for any of your teammates." Naruto reminded him. "I'm not putting off training but I'm not leaving her alone until she wakes up. I'll train with my clones if I have to; she is not being left alone!"

Kakashi started to protest when Sasuke added, "I'll watch her too. We'll take shifts." Two heads snapped in his direction, and Sasuke shrugged. "Naruto's right. Hinata's our teammate. I know you want to train out of Konoha to try and keep me safe Sensei but you admitted that Orochimaru is stronger than you. And I don't know what kind of trackers he has at his disposal but I'm willing to bet we wouldn't stay hidden for very long if I was training a lot. At least if we stay near the village we can call for help if something happens."

Kakashi stared for a moment before asking, "Did something happen that you suddenly want to stay in Konoha no matter what? Because you've been refuting leaving since I mentioned it."

Sasuke actually blushed before muttering something, and Naruto was certain one of those words sounded suspiciously like "Date". Kakashi made him confirm, and Sasuke reluctantly admitted, "I have a date with Sakura. I originally planned to take her to lunch to congragulate her on doing so well and... Well, I wasn't thinking about it in those terms but she asked if it was a date. And I said yes."

Naruto sat there for a moment, dumbfounded, before pulling out a marble and dropping it to the floor. "Nope, gravity still works."

Sasuke snatched up the marble and threw it at Naruto, who caught it on his forehead protector. Kakashi gave them both a look, and Kurama reminded them, "This is a hospital," so both boys quieted down and the three sat in silence.

Kakashi finally broke it by telling Naruto, "I can't focus too much time on training you Naruto. Not because I don't want to, but because the Council has insisted that Sasuke win his match, and I do everything in my power to make sure it happens. This is a direct order; an A rank mission in fact. And I want Sasuke to survive against Gaara."

"That's all right Sensei. I can train on my own; it's not the first time." Naruto pointed out.

"Not what I was trying to say." Kakashi corrected. "I'm telling you I can't train you. I will however, get you a sensei. Probably Ebisu for chakra control, and whoever else I can find that owes me a favor. I know you have a bit of a history with Ebisu but rest assure; he is an amazing teacher if you give him a chance. Much better at actually teaching than I am."

"I'll try Sensei." Naruto promised. "When would I meet him?"

"Tomorrow around noon. He'll probably want to work with you on water walking to start with and he'll send you a scroll as to where to meet him." Kakshi stated. "And the Hokage wants to see you about that seal you got. He says there's a sealing master coming into Konoha to help make sure it's fixed. It might take a few days to coordinate it but you should be called down and helped."

"Will he look at Sasuke too?" Naruto asked. "You said you weren't a sealing master sensei, so maybe it would help for someone who really knows seals to add to it? Make sure that thing's not taking over? Sasuke's strong enough to fight it now, but we don't know how it works so that could change."

Sasuke made a face but Kakashi nodded. "I hadn't considered it but we probably should. If we can make sure that seal stays secure, it'll mean that you're less likely to be influenced by it. And before you think otherwise Sasuke; it will influence you. I've met one other with that seal, and she won't use it if her life depends on it, because it does change your thought process. We need it as locked down as we can manage."

"Fine. And then we'll train, right?" Sasuke asked. "I think we owe it to Hinata that we win."

"And Lee." Naruto told him. "Neji and Gaara are going to pay. That I promise you."

(Nothing Else Seems to Work)

Naruto finished his warm ups and turned to Gai with a bow. "Thank you for resuming our lessons Sensei." Naruto told him sincerly. "I would have thought you'd be too busy to spare time for me."

"Not at all Naruto." Gai boomed. "Early morning training is good for keeping up youthful vigor, and I have a lot of time to spare. Neji is refusing to train with me, so I'm just training Tenten right now."

Gai's voice held a little pain at the reminder that Lee wasn't training with him but Naruto's brain skipped over that and drew a new implication of his statement. "Neji won't train with you?" Naruto asked, incredulously. "You're the best taijutsu teacher and practioner in our village. Why's he refusing training?"

"I do not approve of what he did to his cousin. It was very unyouthful." Gai told Naruto firmly. "And he does not want to hear anything like that. And he refuses to visit Lee in the hospital, because and I quote,"it was the fate of the weak to lose and not worth my time to visit one like him." I told him I would not train someone who was that crass and cruel to their teammates, and to appologise to Lee before coming back. He has not returned."

Naruto had a hard time believing anyone would talk to their jonin-sensei like that, or anyone being so heartless as to feel no remores for their teammate like Neji was acting. Nevertheless, Naruto wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. "I'm sorry to hear that Gai-sensei. I am grateful that you are taking the time to help train me. I wish it was under better circumstances but I'm grateful nonetheless."

Gai chuckled. "The Hokage is right; you are working on your diplomatic responses." Naruto shrugged sheepishly. "Your taijutsu is doing very well, especially for someone who can't practice it that often. Do you train with your weights?"

"All the time. Full body ones now, not just my arms and legs." Naruto told him proudly. "And I'm practicing whenever I can. But I don't think I'll ever be as good as you or Lee in Hard Fist taijutsu. I'm thinking I'll be a better jack-of-all-trades taijutsu fighter."

"That's what I strive to be Naruto. I think it's what every shinobi should strive to be, in all arts." Gai stated. "I am best at taijutsu, but I can use both nijutsu and genjutsu as need be. I am not the best with ninjutsu, and my genjutsu is too weak to be of much practical combat use, but you will find that I can counter almost any genjutsu or ninjutsu sent my way and I can use them both when needed. You should do your best to diversify your skills, the best you can. Are you up for a kendo lesson?"

"I was hoping we'd be able to." Naruto grinned. "I figured that I'd show off that in the finals. Though I won't use it against Neji if I can help it. I don't want to kill him."

"If you work with me for the next month and Tenten when you get the chance, you'll be skilled enough to take down your oppent with a blade without drawing blood." Gai promised as the two slipped into fighting stances.

Naruto trained with Gai over the next two hours before finally needing to call it quits. Naruto was glad to stop, being thoroughly worn out after such a workout but his main concern was not being late for Ebisu. The specled jonin had asked Naruto to meet him at the bath house for noon, which gave Naruto just enough time to clean up after his grueling work out with Gai before meeting with his teacher for the month.

Contrary to how Naruto had acted in the hospital, it bothered him a lot that Kakashi wasn't allowed to teach him for the month so that Sasuke would put on a better show. Didn't it speak more of Konoha if a nobody rookie genin with no clan or family suddenly came in and did well than if someone from a famous clan did? But truth be told, Sasuke needed the extra training if he was going up against an unstable jinchuriki and survive. Naruto wasn't about to begrudge him that.

But that was neither here nor there. Naruto hurriedly showered, grabbed a bite of lunch and then raced off to make sure that he was on time for his training. Ebisu and him didn't always see eye to eye, especially since Konohomaru liked Naruto better than Ebisu, who was supposed to be tutoring the Hokage's grandson, so Naruto wanted to avoid throwing fuel on the fire. If Ebisu would teach him, then Naruto would be willing to learn.

Naruto quickly confirmed the meeting place with Ebisu via the scroll that he'd been delivered and took off to make sure he was a few minutes early. Having met the man while he tutored Konohamaru, Naruto knew that Ebisu was a strong believer in puncutality, tact and hard work. He didn't like Naruto on a personal level but he would push that aside to act professionally and ensure that Naruto recieved the best teaching he could offer.

So Naruto showed up in front of the bathhouses, five mintues before he was supposed to meet Ebisu. The bispecled special jonin was there, nodding as Naruto approached. "Good. I'm glad you didn't make me wait." He said simply. "I understand you're looking for help to do well in the finals? Congragulations on making it this far. Whether by luck or skill, you will be one of the best Konoha has to offer. So, we're going to review what it is you need to know."

Naruto frowned a bit at that. "Review what I need to know? Not need to learn?"

"The same thing in this case. I obvserved your fight agains the Inzuka." Ebisu told him. "That was a clever move, so I now know you don't need a lesson in tactics. However, you seemed surprised at the outcome. That tells me you need to know how to properly observe and understand an opponent. A similar note I've found is this; you have massive chakra at your disposal, yet you use it frivillously. That tells me you don't have good chakra control yet. From personal experience, I know your control is atrocious."

"I've been improving." Naruto replied a bit bitterly.

"I'm not criticizing. I'm stating a fact. Your control is terrible but at no fault of your own." Ebisu told him simply. "Most genin have their early years in the Academy to build up their control while their reserves are low. But with you, your reserves were never low, so there was no way for you to learn control the same way. So we will work on exercises to improve your control."

"Umm..." Naruto looked sheepishly at his feet. "Might we postpone that slightly? I'm afraid I will have a handicap at the moment."

"Oh?" Ebisu asked, his face almost being passive except for the downward tilt of his chin, indicating he was glaring at Naruto behind his sunglasses.

"You heard about my team being attacked in the exam? I got sealed." Naruto explained. "My chakra's completely out of whack. I can't utilise what control I have."

"I understand. However, this is the perfect time for you to work on your control then." Ebisu told him firmly. "You won't have perfect conditions on the battlefield. This allows you to learn the hard way, which will serve you better in the long run. Most shinobi learn things the easy way, which gives quick results with a skill but limited adaptability. If you want to succeed, you style must be flexible."

Naruto grimaced but didn't protest. Ebisu was the teacher here. He would listen, for now. "Don't write him off just yet." Kurama warned. "Kakashi insisted that Ebisu was a good teacher, and he hasn't been known to lie to us. If Ebisu has a training method, it would be best to follow it."

Naruto did agree with that, and followed Ebisu into the hot springs. Naruto was careful to avoid looking through any of the boards at the women's side of the bath house, even before Kurama gave him a chiding warning. Ebisu indicated towards one of the pools and told Naruto, "You're going to work on water walking. This is a variation on the tree climbing exercise. Walking on water is a challenge because water is a liquid. Liquids, unlike solids, are not entirely stable when you apply a force on them. Chakra not only has to push you upright, but must also keep the tension of the water strong enough to support your weight. That takes a lot of control."

Naruto nodded slowly, looking down at the water. "How should it feel?" Naruto asked hesitantly. "I don't want to push too hard and empty the pool."

Ebisu thought for a moment, and sighed. "It will feel different for everyone." Ebisu admitted. "Try just pushing with one foot, with an increasing trickle of chakra until you feel you could take a step. Be careful though; just because it feels solid for one foot doesn't mean that it will support your full weight."

"Like lifting the corner of a rock rather than the whole thing?" Naruto asked.

"A good analogy. Remember it, and give it a try. Doing is the best way to learn." Ebisu told him.

Naruto took a deep breath, and gently pushed his foot against the water. After giving off a trickle of chakra, as little as he could manage, he felt like he was stable against the water. After trippling the amount of chakra he was supposed to use, Naruto took a causious step forward. And promptly fell into the pool,

"Hot, hot, hot!" Naruto screamed as he flailed about, trying to get out of the steaming pool.

Ebisu smirked a little, before informing him, "You'll need to be careful. The hot water will boil you if you take too many tries. Slow and steady is the better method for training."

Naruto growled as he climbed out but Kurama told him off. "He is being truthful, and this is a good motivator to keep you from actually getting hurt. Simply work at this as much as you can. It will take a few tries right now." She reminded him. "Strip down; no sense in getting all your clothes soaked. That's why you're at a hot springs. Just keep going."

Naruto scowled but did as he was told. Fighting with Kurama never ended well. Stripping down to his underwear, Naruto closed his eyes, focussed his chakra and gently pushed his weight onto the water, trying to keep himself upright on the liquid. His mind focussed only on the water, his chakra, and his foot as it steped onto the liquid's surface.

Naruto did an almost-shuffle, trying to slowly adjust for his weight on the volitile surface. This time, he managed to make it to the point of having both feet on the surface of the water but before he could feel good about his success, his chakra control slipped and Naruto's feet were no longer properly channeling chakra. His right foot shot up as too much chakra tore through it, while the other left him sinking very quickly to the bottom of the pool. End result was Naruto standing in the water, almost doing the splits and crying out in pain before he crawled back out of the water.

Ebisu nodded. "That is good progress Naruto. You managed to stay on top of the water for a moment. Continue with progress like that, and you're control will improve by leaps and bounds."

Naruto did acknowledge the comliment, considering the source he likely wouldn't recieve another like it, but it didn't ease the uneasy feeling he got while working. Naruto didn't have the best control but he normally felt some sort of progress practicing like this by now. "That damage to the seal must be affecting me worse than I thought." Naruto mused as he took another hesitant step onto the water.

Ebisu watched Naruto carefully, observing the boy's next few attempts carefully, before calling for him to take a break. "You're going to boil like an egg if you keep falling in." Ebisu told him. "There are towels by the fence. Dry off and we'll take a break."

Naruto agreed, he felt red as a lobster and he was getting light headed. He headed for the fence, intending to grab a towel when he caught sight of a man kneeling by the fence. "Hehehe." Naruto heard and he frowned.

"What the hell?" Naruto wondered, grabbing a towel and looking the man over. He was broad shouldered, with a large scroll on his back and a mane of spiky white hair. And he was chuckling while scribbling in a notebook and staring at a hole in the fence...

Wait a second. Naruto scowled and went to Ebisu then. "Sensei, does that fence seperate the women's baths?" Naruto asked, nodding towards the odd man.

Ebisu looked over and frowned. "That's right. And I won't stand for someone acting like that." Ebisu said with a scowl and charged forward. "I will not permit such behavior!"

"Geez." The man groaned upon Ebisu's approach. When the special-jonin moved faster, the man spun around and slammed his hand onto the ground, summoning a large orange toad. "Keep quiet will you? What are you gonna do if they catch me here? Hey buddy, get rid of him will you?"

Ebisu's eyes went wide as the toad suddenly reached out with it's tongue, grabbed him by the ankle and threw the man across the hot springs clearing. Ebisu landed with a loud crash as he slammed into one of the sheds. Naruto stared for a long moment, before rushing over to check on the man. Ebisu was unconscious, and when Naruto checked the man's head, his hand came back bloody where it had collided with a shed.

"You son of a bitch!" Naruto yelled at him, waving an accusing arm between the peeping tom and his unconscious sensei. "What the hell was that for?"

The man scowled until he saw the blood on Naruto's hand. "Shit." The man muttered. "I did it again." He looked down at the toad and told it, "I messed up. Can you drop the guy off to the hospital? The staff know what to do." The toad nodded, and reached out to grab Ebisu until Naruto stepped in the way.

"Whoa there, hold on. They'll "know what to do?" Who the hell do you think you are?" Naruto demanded. "Is this some regular occurance for you? You get caught spying on women who are vulnerable and you attack people for calling you on it?"

The man scowled at Naruto and warned him, "Kid, I don't know who you are but you do not want to take that tone with me. I don't hurt anybody with what I do. This was an accident. I sometimes forget to hold back when people attack me. It's kind of-"

"Naruto." Kurama spoke slowly, interupting his attention to the man's rant. "Please confirm for me that's a toad, not a frog."

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, that's a toad." Naruto told her.

Kurama scowled. "Put the seal on him. I need to talk with him." Naruto frowned, a little confused but focussed his attention on the man.

"Hey mister. I know you're still talking but could you come check him out? Before you have your toad hop and toss him around on his way to the hospital?" Naruto called.

The man sighed and shook his head. "Fine, if it'll get you out of my hair." He got off the toad's back and wandered to within arm's reach. Quick as a flash, Naruto slapped Kurama's communication seal onto him, and the man's eyes widened. "What the hell?"

"Jiraiya, you good for nothing, lazy, arrogant, perverted waste of a human being! Where the hell have you been for the last twelve years!" Kurama snapped at him. "Fine way to introduce yourself to your godson, especially when you were supposed to be in the Hokage's office, looking to inspect two potentially dangerous seals on two very young boys! And for what? So you could oggle women young enough to be your daughters? So you could fantasize about them, demean them into less than human beings and think of them as walking sex dolls placed on this Earth solely for your own pleasure? What kind of sick, disgusting excuse of a man are you?"

Jiraiya, now fully aware of what was going on, went slack jawed as he stared down at Naruto for a long moment. Naruto was in shock too, having heard everything that Kurama had said. "Godson?" He asked.

Jiraiya ran a tired hand over his face, and sighed. "So she taught you that seal, huh? Well Kurama, glad to hear you haven't changed." He said dryly. "And Naruto? Guess this is a really bad first impression. Yeah. Surprise. I'm your godfather."