Chapter 11

"Faith"

(Forest of Death - Tower Infirmary)

Feeling a flash of lighting roll on his eye-lids, Naruto let out a low groan and cracked a single eye open. "...This is not the hospital." He muttered coarsely, scanning the brown wall.

"No." A familiar voice responded from his bed-side. "You were bleeding too much. Anko did not want to risk taking the long way to the Hospital so she brought you here. The equipment is decent, more than enough to help you out."

Rin placed her hand on his forehead. "Fever's down. Good..." She notes down on a clipboard.

"Did you get the poison?" Naruto asked excitedly, "Let me rephrase that actually - did you keep a sample of it? I want to see it."

The woman nodded, "Yes, I had someone transfer it to the Hospital." Pulling over a chair, she sat down next to him. "About last time..."

Naruto shook his head, "Not now. Just...just heal me, sensei."

"I won't bring up Naomi anymore. But that's not what I want to talk about." Rin grabbed his arm, "You almost died, Naruto."

"Clearly." He deadpanned, "Otherwise, I wouldn't be in this bed now."

"I'm aware that you fought Orochimaru and I'm aware that you've been out of action for very long now." The brunette squeezed his arm, "What I want to know is, why didn't you use the Kyuubi's chakra?"

Gritting his teeth, he answered. "Had I used its chakra, victory would have been unlikely. Orochimaru is not intimidated by flashy shows of chakra and demonic roars."

"Victory against one of the greatest shinobi to have ever lived is unlikely either way." Rin retorted, "You would have lasted longer. Minato-sensei did not seal it inside of you to not use."

"My father did what he had to do to save this village. Also, Orochimaru is at his best against mind-less opponents - I chose a strategy that I thought would work the best and I stuck with it. I chose to fight like an intelligent shinobi, not a mind-less demon."

"Is that what you think?" Rin asked, "I don't care if you are intelligent or mind-less. All I want you to do is survive!"

"And I did!"

"He should have killed you. Anko told me what she saw when she found you - you were bleeding so much that she thought you were dead right then and there! You have no excuse to ignore the power you were given!"

"You think that I am ungrateful? You couldn't be more wrong." Naruto began moving in his bed. "I'm glad that I have this power. I just refuse to become powerful in this way."

"Don't lie to me, Naruto." She scolded coldly, squeezing his arm even tighter. "You do not care about power anymore. I have been your mentor for many years and I have seen how you've slowly began to change your style. You use power when you are lazy and when you fight a difficult opponent, you abandon it and stick with intelligence. A sloppy way to fight."

"Before Wave, I haven't been in action in almost half a year. It's to be expected."

She slammed her hand on a nearby table, making him flinch very slightly - not used to seeing her lash out in such a way. "IT. IS. NOT. TO. BE. EXPECTED!" Rin growled, "With proper maintenance and condition, you would be in reasonable shape, not the weakling I see before me. Lack of mission action is not the only reason you've been sloppy, it's been your lack of training and mental preparation! I have taught you time and again that talent and intelligence cannot carry you all the time."

The brunette continued, "The Hokage has not seen mission action ever since he had black hair and he's still the best shinobi in this village, excluding Jiraiya. Oh and just to let you know, you've done more clinic hours than Jiraiya has done missions in the last few years."

Naruto grimaced, unsure of how to respond to that.

"I'm done holding your hand, Naruto. We need you, the better version of you. The you that walked into an entire battalion of missing-nin and demolished them with a balance of great strength and intelligence. We need that you...and now more than ever."

"...Sensei." Naruto was surprised her admission, "What are you saying? Between the lines I mean - you are obviously trying to brace me for something."

"Quiet." She placed a single finger on his lips, "I'm sorry... actually no, I'm not sorry for what I'm about to tell you."

Tilting his head, curious, Naruto led her on. "What are you going to tell me?"

"You're fired." She spat out, "And until you get yourself together, you are banned from working in any clinic in the village!"

The blonde just stared at her in the eyes. He could hear the roaring laughter in the back of his mind, the Kyuubi laughing at his current predicament. To be honest, Naruto was speechless so he did the one thing he was really good at, to lash out.

"What!?" He exclaimed, trying to sit up, only to feel pain in his chest. "You can't fire me! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"And that is exactly why I am firing you. I don't want the Uzumaki Naruto I see here and now working under me! I want the Uzumaki Naruto who found pride in his strength! I want the Uzumaki Naruto who was not afraid to become strong!"

"Are you an idiot!? Surely, you see that this won't end well! I am the best damn medic under your command - you can't just fire me! We're..." He slowed down for a moment, "We're about to be invaded. You can't take me away from where I can work my best."

"You never worked your best in Diagnostics." She corrected. "Or have you forgotten your history as a combat medic? Diagnostics is not your area of expertise, even though you are good at it, you are a combat medic at heart and nothing will ever change that!"

"True medics heal, not strike! Isn't that what you've always told me."

She slapped him. "How dare you speak so ignorantly in front of your mentor. I have taught you better than that." The brunette countered.

"I've always told you to be the best, not above average." Rin continued smoothly, "I have found someone to set your head straight. Hopefully, he can take you out of this slump. I cannot believe that you have turned out this bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto felt like laughing, "You think a single man here can control me? The Hokage is simply too busy to-" He froze as a shiver ran down his spine.

Usually, Naruto never had this feeling, being a good shinobi in his own right despite Rin's current rant. No one ever snuck up on him, it just didn't happen - stealth was his area of expertise as well as medicine. But when he did get surprised every now and then, a shiver would run down his spine and a cold bead of sweat would make itself known.

"I may not be the Hokage but it's mostly out of choice." A deep, voice said from the corner of the room. Naruto didn't even sense him enter. "Now then, I know that we are not on the best terms."

"...Jiraiya." Naruto uttered, a migraine hitting him all of a sudden. "Finally found the time to visit your dear Godson?" He mocked.

"Naruto! He's returned to check up on you - show some gratitude!"

Scoffing, "Keh! Unbelievable. So you've come to set me straight have you?" Despite his bravado, Naruto knew well that the man in front of him could kick his ass in several hundred different ways.

"Yep." He replied conversationally, watching his Godson try to hide a grimace comically. Smirking, he continued. "Don't worry too much about this one Rin. His father had the same doubts about power - this one just chose a stressful time to be a dick about it." Naruto glared at him.

"Power breeds corruption."

"Oh cut the bullshit brat." He laughed, waving it off. "I'm not here to debate about power and control. It's an issue that has been talked of for many, many years! I don't care much for it anymore."

"...Then what are you going to do?" Naruto asked suspiciously. He could never understand the mind of his Godfather, "I don't need training."

"No, you don't. You have everything you'll ever need to become a great shinobi, you just lack one thing." The legend lifted a single finger and pointed it at the young man.

"Pointing is rude you know. Anyways, oh wise one - what do I lack?" He opened his eyes wide open as if to imitate a fan-boy.

"Smart-ass." Jiraiya scoffed lighty, "It's pretty obvious to a great shinobi like me. You lack...HEART!" He yelled the last bit at him.

Naruto seemed bemused. "What?" He looked at his chest, "I think I have mine."

"Idiot! That's not what I meant...but I'm sure you were just being a sarcastic asshole just now." The older man sighed, "You lack the heart to believe. You've become so cold, so calculating that you've become blind. You're faith has faltered and the world you see now is so dark, so hopeless that you've turned out like this."

Naruto roared out in laughter at his speech. "Are you being serious with me right now?! I lack faith? What does that even mean?"

"You do not want power because you don't believe in yourself. You think that all humans are alike, including you. You believe that right down to the core, if you were given absolute power, you would abuse and spam it - losing yourself along the way. You think that if any human were given great power, they would become monsters. I can understand your view. You're not entirely wrong...but you're definitely not right!"

"You fear gaining power because you love yourself just the way you are: a respectable shinobi and in control of yourself. But you ignore one thing, the progress of others! They will not hesitate to gain what you fear and you will lose because of this. Minato had the same problem too." Jiraiya admitted.

"What do you mean?" Rin asked, "Sensei...never held back in his training. He was always great."

"Ah but you never saw him when I did. I remember a time after the Gaou Massacre when he came up to me and asked a question. I'll never forget the look on his face - the man just looked so...scared. So scared that it even scared me a bit." He replied, "He asked me...'Am I a monster, Jiraiya-sensei?'..."

"...What?!" Rin thought, shocked, "Sensei thought this?"

Jiriaya sighed, remembering that day. "He said a lot of things like - 'I killed so many people that day, Sensei. I murdered men, women and children who just wanted to live their own lives. Am I not gaining power to bring peace as you said? How can I make peace when I create pain?'..."

"What did you tell him?" The brunette asked.

"I told him that he was wrong." Jiraiya answered, "He wasn't a monster, he was just a very powerful man and it was the truth. Minato was always incorruptible, even after he became famous for it. Iwa called him a demon but in his heart, he knew that he did what he had to do."

"..." Naruto only gave him a blank stare but in the recesses of his mind, doubt had already began stirring.

"You're wrong about your beliefs, kiddo. People may be born equal but they grow up to become different, some better than others! You are one of them. Can you not see it?" He asked rhetorically, "Power won't destroy you Naruto, even if it is from the Kyuubi."

"But! I cannot just...I cannot just turn my back on my teachings. I was taught that without control, power is senseless."

"But without power, control can only take you so far."

Various words then began ranging in Naruto's ears, words of the past that he threw away on a whim - words that he should have held on to.

"Fact of the matter is, you can potentially be one of my best overall shinobi. Not just as a doctor."

"You are not living up to the potential your father has passed on to you!"

"Now look at you, a shadow of your former self."

"You've sealed half of your own chakra capacity into my cage for the sake of 'control' - fucking cowardly. I can barely stand the sight of you."

Naruto's breath stifled. Jiraiya pulled up another chair to sit next to his Godson and placed a single palm on the boy's head, ruffling his hair with a small smile. "I know that you are not a coward, Naruto. You...you're just lost. Like I was when I was about as powerful as you are right now...just like your mother and father when they did. Like Rin here." The woman nodded sadly, "Like Kakashi and like many other great ninja."

"Am I...?" He asked quietly but with powerful conviction. "Why must it be my responsibility to become so great? Why do I have to become like him?" Naruto asked, disgust laced in his voice.

Rin wanted to speak up and ask what he meant but was silenced by Jiraiya, who waved his hand at her. He already seemed to have an idea of what the boy was talking about according to his casual glance.

"You are not like your former master."

"But I can still be." He snarked back, "He used to be great - he was one of the best damn shinobi in this village! Look at what power has turned him into. He became a monster! I...won't be like him." He gritted out. "Like Itachi!" He spoke the words as if it were a mantra he had told himself hundreds of times for many years.

Despite his Godson's many achievements, Jiraiya had to often remind himself that Naruto was still a child. A young man that could only see the world in a small view, unlike one of an adult. "Teenage angst doesn't suit you, kid." Jiraiya chuckled, "You're a good kid. You're better than him."

"Why not? My success is almost just like his. He trained me personally, if there is anyone in the village who is just like him, it is me."

"You're not anything like Itachi, believe me." The sage grunted, annoyed by the boy's thoughts. "While the similarities are great, there are so many other differences that even to the most inexperienced eyes, you two are different."

Naruto didn't answer immediately, "How can you be so sure?" He asked grimly, "And why are you so happy all the time? Don't you understand that because you are so powerful, you're visions of peace will never come to fruition?"

"Perhaps it won't." He admitted lightly, "But, the best we can all do...is just that, our best. I lived my life looking for a way to bring peace and I have failed, you are right. But I never lost my heart, my faith." He continued to ruffle his hair, "I won't let you lose yourself, Godson. I am sure that power won't corrupt you...because I have faith in you."

Faith.

"Faith?" Naruto thought solemnly. He wanted to retort at him, laughing at how idiotic the man sounded but when the blonde saw the conviction in Jiraiya's eyes, he couldn't help but just think for a long time. For several minutes, Naruto just stayed in complete silence - his mind was going a mile a second. His breath just hitched now and then, a hint that he kept hesitating to say something. But Jiraiya was patient and just let him think for a long time.

His eyes wandered around for a bit and landed on Rin who was looking at him with worry in her eyes. But it was the spot behind her that caught his attention. Like time had frozen, he watched as a ghostly visage of a friend of day's passed - walked up to him and placed her hand on his chest. She smiled slightly and began caressing his face.

Jiraiya thought he looked pretty funny, considering the kid was looking down at nothing and bobbed his head like a toy, a glazed look in his gaze. His face went through several different emotions, from fear to sorrow to content and then to realization.

"..." The blonde talked as if in a whisper, Jiraiya did not hear him at first. "I'm sorry." He uttered out silently. "...What have I..." He didn't finish his statement. Jiraiya nodded and just patted his shoulder.

"We all go through it. There is nothing to apologize for...You see it, don't you? The logic behind it all. There will come a time when all powerful shinobi like us will either rise to the top...or fall to darkness. This is the crossroads we all see sometime in our lives - the choice of whether to gain power or to leave it in fear of destroying ourselves. Of course, I never had a doubt in my mind where you would have ended - I just sped up the process. You are just like your father after all. Although...you seem to have your mother's humor."

Rin could only watch in amazement as the veteran shinobi managed to talk the boy out of his sick point of view. "Damn..." She could only shake her head, "Even on bad terms, the man manages to make his Godson see reason. I would have never thought that the problem after all this time...was his fear of becoming like Itachi."

"Have a little faith in yourself kid." The sage patted his head again affectionately, "Power won't turn you into a monster - not by itself. We're all here to help you through this...we won't let you fall to that darkness."

Naruto just looked up to his Godfather and held his gaze.

Then nodded.

(Preliminaries)

Chouji fell to the ground, panting hard after a long bout with his current opponent. He peered up to the apathetic, blond teenager with a determined spark in his eyes. She stared back at him, not backing down to his fighting spirit.

"Chouji can't seem to hit her." Asuma muttered, "She's too quick."

"Samui is looking poised to win this fight, Asuma. Looks like it's gonna be one-one for you." Kurenai said, "She hasn't even shown anything yet - only letting Chouji waste his chakra so far."

"Yeah..."

Watching Chouji return to his feet, Samui couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Shall we go again?" Her tone was plain and cold, the complete opposite of her teammate and sensei.

"You got it!" Inflating his body, he rolled over like a large boulder - looking to crush her beneath.

"This is kind of sad." The blond Kumo kunoichi thought to herself, "Now I've seen one trick ponies before but never one this determined."

Dodging with a smooth slide to the right, she decided to end the battle after seeing the boy's now reduced rolling speed. Taking out a couple of exploding tags, she slammed them down on the ground and watched as he rolled over to her direction. Like a land mine, the tags exploded the moment Chouji crossed it - the blast disrupted his balance and making him crash into the wall again, this time in his original form.

Hayate took a moment to check the boy over before nodding. "Winner, Samui."

"Eh, he tried his best. Good thing she kind of went easy on him, the tag was weak." Asuma groused, "I need to teach him some new ninjutsu."

"That was the most boring fight so far." Kakashi agreed, "No offense to you of course, Asuma. Now then...who's up next?"

The board began rolling and the chosen names were shown.

Inuzuka Kiba vs. Temari

"YES!" The Inuzuka exclaimed loudly to the room, "We've got this, ne? Akamaru!"

"Arf!"

The sand genin from across the room rolled her eyes and calmly walked down the floor. "This one take long..."

Her Jounin-sensei however, spoke up. "Inuzuka are typically known to attack from angles. Be wary of any drill attacks." She nodded, thanking him for the knowledge.

"Hn, watch out for her fan, dobe." Sasuke grunted, "Remember from the Academy lesson, Suna typically produces wind users - that fan is probably used to dice up her enemies." He observed.

"I'll be fine!" He smiled widely, "She's going down!"

"Maa, but he's right Kiba." Kakashi said from beside him, "She's likely to be a long distance specialist. According to my experience, she seems to be inspired by Suna's old fan squad. They were heavily reliant on their ability to keep a distance and observe the enemy so be sure to close the distance early in this battle."

"Hai!"

Five minutes later, the two genin were facing off on the floor. "Begin!" Hayate signaled.

And like his teacher instructed, Kiba threw a single pill at Akamaru and watched as he turned red. Temari seemed interested so she observed this development. "A soldier pill?"

"Yep! Now you're going down girl!" He smirked, "Jujin Bunshin (Human Clone)!" Akamaru transformed into an exact copy of him down to the smell. "Now then!" They both got on their arms and legs, as if emulating a wolf.

"So this is the Inuzuka's Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Leg Technique) - interesting, it looks exactly as the books describe in Suna."

Kiba reached into his pouch and threw out some smoke bombs, hindering Temari's ability to see. "Tch." She sucked her teeth out loud. "Typical."

"Gatsuuga (Fang over Fang)!" As he and Akamaru began spinning, they began to randomly run right through the smoke screen as if hoping to get a hit out of just. A moment later however, Temari managed to counter - pulling out her fan, she swung it straight around her.

"Ninpou: Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel)!" The smoke around her now blown away, as was the two drilling forms of Kiba and Akamaru - both hitting opposite walls. Not finished with her initial attack, she then pulled out two other, smaller fans from her big fan.

"Ninpou: Tsuin-itachi (Twin Weasel)!" Sending smaller and more compact blasts of winds to attack Kiba and Akamaru, the two managed to dodge the majority of her attacks. Unfortunately for Akamaru, the dog caught a strike and was wounded on the lower leg of his body.

"Shit." Kiba then took out some more smoke bombs, only to freeze as the girl had already prepared her attack. Carrying her bigger fan now, she swung it at his direction. "Ninpou: Kamaitachi (Sickle Weasel)!" Now taking on the full force of the hit, Kiba was knocked back hard into the wall like many other genin before him. Just as he was about to hit the floor, the girl threw several kuna and shuriken at him, catching a his left arm and leg. "Eh!" He grunted in pain.

Temari ducked instinctively, watching as the other clone of the genin pass right over her. Positioning herself carefully, she kicked the dog into the air and just as he landed, she allowed her fan to be placed under - Akamaru landing on it with a loud grunt. A moment later, he returned to his regular form, knocked out.

"Too easy." She grinned at her downed opponent. "Just too easy."

"Winner, Temari."

Kakashi watched in pity as his genin was carted off to the infirmary. "That's unfortunate - the girl was good." He sighed.

"Indeed." Asuma agreed, "She didn't need to do much - it was just a bad match up for Kiba."

"Yes, I guess it was. But I don't want to make any excuses for my squad, they should be used to adversity after surviving Wave." The Jounin shook his head, "I'll talk to him about it later. I wonder who's next."

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Omoi

"I know you hate me Kami." Kakashi looked up to the roof, "But this is just ridiculous."

Of course, in his heart, he did believe that Sasuke was a good match up for anyone here. But all the Kumo ninja so far had proved to be excellent shinobi - and the third one seemed to have the most intimidating demeanor. The dark skinned boy had watched all the matches so far with only a few comments and yawns here and there.

"Alright Omoi, we're goin' for the sweep baby! If you don't win..." For the first time, B didn't finish his rhyme and watched with satisfaction as the boy's eyes began blazing in thought. "Works every time." The Kumo Jinchuuriki thought with a smirk.

"Oh Kami, what if he demotes me back to the Academy! I can't let that happen! I have a family to feed and if I don't win this fight, I won't be able to help them at all! No...no, what if sensei decides to make me run four hundred times around Unraikyo! Oh man, that would totally suck - that would tire me out way too much. If he did that, then how would I be able to charm the ladies again?! I'll be hunched back almost one hundred percent of the time during breaks! Oh man, what if he decides to kill me? He could get away with it, couldn't he? Oh man...what if he tells Karui to spread bad rumors about me. I'll never be able to get a date then. I really wanted to ask that cute white eyed Konoha genin - what was her name again? Whatever! Oh man, she'll never like me if Karui decides to say something bad. What if she says I'm a womanizer or something! Don't girls hate that? Or maybe...maybe she could like that. No way! Wait, this is all about B-sensei here. What if he-"

"Hurry up and get down here or I'll have to disqualify you." Hayate coughed. "We've been waiting."

"HAI!" He literally ran down the stairs. Karui face-palmed as she watched her idiotic third teammate act the fool. "That idiot is definitely gonna kill the sweep."

Sasuke watched his opponent with a curious gaze. "He's in deep thought."

"What if-" Omoi continued thinking of several different scenarios, "Oh man...I hope he doesn't make me take on a pirate ship by myself. What if it blows up or sinks? Gah!"

"Begin."

Sasuke drew a kunai and threw it Omoi, who just dodged without a thought. He still wasn't paying attention to the fight and for several good reasons, this seemed to enrage the young Uchiha. He reached down to the kunai pouch strapped to his left leg and drew another, bigger variant of a typical kunai.

"Oi! Pay attention or you'll be stuck in detention!" B shouted out quickly, "If you don't win, I'll have to commit one sin! I don't like killin' kids, but this one's gotta' huge bid!" That seemed to partially snap the dark-skinned genin out of his long, painful thoughts. Just as Sasuke was going to swing his small blade, Omoi drew the sword on his back quicker then he could catch - blocking Sasuke easily.

Retracting his sword, Omoi swung down quickly forcing Sasuke to step back, impressed with his cutting speed. "Fast!" Grinning now, Sasuke closed his eyes.

"Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye)." Both of his pupils turned blood-red with two tomoe like marks in each of them.

"Damn it all! I should've known foolin' you was a bad call!" B exclaimed, seemingly angry with himself now. "Now you're thinkin' too much that it's slowin' you down n' such!"

The Kumogakure Jounin's original plan was too exploit the boy's deep thought tendencies and make him come up with strategies to win, not think of possible ways to get punished by him. His plan had clearly back fired once he saw the first, slow swing.

"Eh, we know how he gets when he's thinking too much." Karui sighed. "Looks like this one is goin' to the Uchiha."

"Sadly." Samui agreed. "I think either way, they were matched up in terms of physical skill - perhaps the Uchiha is quicker. In the end, the factor that will decide this match are those Sharingan eyes."

Omoi charged Sasuke and swung at him at high speeds. "Without these eyes, this would be a lot harder." The raven haired boy admitted.

"This kid is good." Hayate muttered quietly as he watched the exchange. "That B guy must be good then too."

"That boy is amazing! It is a shame that he had to fight one of our own elites as well!" Gai exclaimed, "My internal rival's apprentice will surely not fail today!"

As all of this was going on, Omoi only continued to pile made up pressure on himself. He was sweating faster than he usually did in practice and his coördination was sloppy. Tired of all of it, he decided to throw caution to the wind.

"Itoryuu: Kumo-kakushuu (Cloud Beheading)!" He swung from the side and even as Sasuke dodged it, he felt the sheer amount of force behind the attack from the wind - it struck his face like a punch. Stumbling back from the slight impact, Sasuke had to jump back again when the boy began another exchange of quick cuts.

Tired of being on the defensive, Sasuke began thinking quickly. "I have a good feel for his movements now...it took a while to get used to his speed but it was worth it. Now...I can do this."

Reading Omoi's future swings with perfection, Sasuke ducked down and launched a kick that sent him into the air. Using chakra to heighten his speed, Sasuke appeared behind him in a form that was similar to Rock Lee, as Gai pointed out during the attack.

"Shishi Rendan (Lion Combo)!" In the midst of flight, Omoi was unable to dodge as Sasuke elbowed the side of his head first, followed by several elbows and punches - the finisher being a hard kick as they landed on the ground.

Hayate moved over and nodded. "Winner, Uchiha Sasuke." The raven-haired boy nodded to his downed opponent in acknowledgment.

"Nice...but I think he caught a lucky break for some reason. That kid didn't seem entirely focused. Which I guess is his own problem." Kakashi thought with an eye-smile, "That's one and two. Not bad for a first time."

"That was a pretty good fight. Lots of exchange, almost no dialogue either." Baki muttered from the side. He turned to the side when he heard a snort of amusement from the other red-haired Kumo kunoichi.

"Oh please. Most of the dialogue was probably going on in that idiot's head."

Samui only shook her head, not wanting to crack anymore jokes about her teammate. They were friends after all.

(?)

"Have you prepared them?" A low, gruff voice sounded out. "The estimated time of invasion will come in a month."

"Hai! We also managed to receive a new batch of children from a recently disowned orphanage from a nearby town." A tall, dark haired ninja said. His voice sounded cracked from being hidden behind a mask, "Our current forces will be adequate for the coming storm, Danzo-sama."

"Hm." He let out some stream smoke from his pipe. It was a habit he'd gotten from his teammate after seeing how much it relaxed the man after a long day. "Excellent. I want them all trained - I do not believe this will be a one and done battle. Orochimaru is more persistent than that...the fool is like a damned cobra."

"Hai! It will be as you command." The ninja then disappeared from sight. Danzo sighed and rubbed his temple, glad that no one was around to see his stressed image. Running an underground shinobi force, hidden from the Hokage to boot, was not an easy task - especially for someone of his age who should have retired long ago.

But not matter what, he would not stop defending his country, old bones be damned.

"Konoha will live through this and the world will know our might once again. The Roots of Konoha shall never perish."

(Iwa)

"Kurotsuchi!" A large shinobi spoke loudly. "Kurotsuchi! Where are you?" He muttered, annoyed with his smaller sister. "She's probably upstairs, sulking."

Walking up to her room, he found that her slide door was slightly open. Peaking through, he saw her stashing dozens kunai and shuriken into a single bag, along with several other explosive notes. "She doesn't need that much if she had a mission...what is she up to?" He thought to himself curiously. "No...unless she's planning on sneaking into battle with Gramps. That's not good...I should stop this now."

He was about to make his presence known when he saw the glint in her eyes. It was one he did not see often enough in her cold gaze - it was worry and compassion. Akatsuchi was well aware of just how much she valued her family after the loss of her parents and the betrayal of Deidara, one of her friends. Secretly, he knew that she was the type to cling on anything she could get her hands on these days, looking for an obsession to take her mind off general grief of loss.

It was not healthy but he didn't know how to help her. So this one time, he just watched and allowed her to pack her bags in secret. Turning around, he also came to a decision himself.

"What kind of grandson would I be if I let Gramps go to war alone? I'll sneak out to Konoha with her...and then together, we'll watch it burn. It's not like anything bad will happen."

(Forest of Death - Infirmary)

"Are you alright?" Jiraiya asked carefully, "You did get your ass kicked by my former teammate after all." He said cheerily, annoying the other two in the room.

"Tch, I would be soft as all hell if I let some injuries bother me. Shinobi live in pain all the time, this is nothing." Naruto muttered in reply, "Now come on, I want to see the matches. Being in here is boring as hell."

The sage just nodded. "Ah, I bet you just want to have a jolly good time with your Godfather right?" He smiled, "I'm touched! Did you finish the book I gave you last time we met?"

"It's been a couple of years." Naruto sighed as he tried to stand to his feet. "I completely forgot what the book was about. The only piece of literature I remember from your collection is your first book." The Toad sage pouted.

"Tch, only because your name was the same as the main character." Smiling to himself slightly, Naruto nodded in confirmation. "Ah, self-centered brat." He ruffled the boy's hair...again.

"Stop that! It's annoying." The blonde got to one feet before faltering. "What the-"

"Stop! The poison had spread throughout your entire body so we had to do a full body operation. Heightened regeneration or not, you'll still have a hard time moving. Remember - you should have been dead." Rin scolded him. Going to the corner of the room, she picked out a cane and gave it to him. "If you insist on getting out, then use this."

Accepting it, he nodded and got back up to his feet. "Thanks." He slowly made his way to the door with it, Jiraiya following him all the way.

Rin could only shake her head as she watched the two banter back in forth as they made their way to the competition.

"It doesn't matter how much Naruto thinks he's annoying. The man's just too damn likeable..."

At the moment, she was just relieved to see that her best student had finally taken his first step to real recovery.

END

Moral of the last two chapters. With power comes consequence.

Bah, the prelims are going fine so far - I'm unhappy with how I handled the Chouji and Kiba fight, it just seemed so...boring and plain but it had to be done, otherwise, it would've kept bugging me. The last three fights are going to be in the next chapter then we're gonna have a short stint during the month long break.

I feel like I'm probably rushing Naruto's change of mindset but...meh, young kids are impressionable, something many people forget. Jiraiya is the most charismatic character in canon as far as I'm concerned, of course any version of Naruto would follow his guidance. Strength as a shinobi does not equal maturity, Naruto is still 14, something that I should have emphasized last chapter.

As many of you know, I did make Naruto completely unlikable last chapter on purpose. Of course, I didn't think so many of you would be so upfront about it though. I actually thought he gave a really solid argument. Is he wrong? Absolute power does breed corruption after all, we've all seen it.

Naruto is a flawed character. I'm envious of the writers of House. I wonder how those guys managed to turn that asshole into such a likable character, haha. Also, for many of you who's asking why I made Naruto so 'wimpy' - he's not. He's a damn kid with power beyond his years and has been traumatized several times. Whether as a shinobi or a doctor, he's had to make decisions people his age shouldn't have to. It hardened him to the core and since Jiraiya wasn't around to guide him, he just stayed like that. Rin admitted that she failed as a teacher and asked him for help. I didn't write down Naruto's insight on being a doctor just to sound cool you know - it was his vision of the world. He's almost the complete opposite of canon Naruto at this point in the story.

Another thing I have an issue with is everyone's problem with Orochimaru. Since when did losing to him mean you're a terrible shinobi, lol. Guy is a beast, he's one of my favorite villains.

And to the guy that said 'Tsunade was a medic-nin and she's not wimpy like Naruto' or something along those lines. You're talking about the same Tsunade who, currently in this story, is drinking and gambling her life away? Point.

I think I've said my peace. Anyways...here's...Johnny!

Well, kinda.

Akimichi Chouji

Taijutsu - 2

Ninjutsu - 2.5

Genjutsu - 0.5

Intelligence - 1

Strength - 3

Speed - 1

Stamina - 2

Handseals - 1.5

Total - 13.5

(x)

Samui

Taijutsu - 1.5

Ninjutsu - 3.5

Genjutsu - 3

Intelligence - 4

Strength - 1

Speed - 2.5

Stamina - 1.5

Handseals - 3.5

Total - 20.5

(x)

Temari

Taijutsu - 2.5

Ninjutsu - 3

Genjutsu - 1.5

Intelligence - 2.5

Strength - 3

Speed - 2.5

Stamina - 2

Handseals - 2

Total - 19

(x)

Omoi

Taijutsu - 2.5

Ninjutsu - 2.5

Genjutsu - 1.5

Intelligence - 1.5

Strength - 2.5

Speed - 3

Stamina - 2.5

Handseals - 1.5

Total - 17.5

Hope you guys have a nice, safe weekend! I've been on an updating spree and it's tiring me out. Later. I'm working on a couple one shots too, I don't know when they'll be out but when they do, look out for them. One is a semi-crack fic and the other is a mass crossover. Both long one shots.