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Summary:
After 8 years of absence, Uzumaki Naruto returns to Konoha to fulfill her promise to a certain Uchiha and her dreams of becoming the greatest ninja that the world has ever known.

Disclaimer:
Copyright belongs Masashi Kishimoto. As mentioned before and always, I am just a fan who loves the said anime. Crazy might be the right word. Lol :)

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"Talking"

'Thinking'

Mindscape "Talking"

"Bijuu speaking"

'Bijuu thinking'

"Jutsu"

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An Uzumaki's Pursuit of Happyness
By: Zelga Lim Li

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Chapter 14

Somewhere in the Uchiha District…

"Are you sure you don't want to tell her everything?" Yui asks dubiously towards the black haired man. The said man chuckled amusingly and dispelled his henge as well the sunglasses that hid the real color of his eyes. Lazily, he sat at one of the fallen tree bark that was beaten up badly by the previous user.

"Despite the connection that we have, I was never a part of her life in the first place nor have the right to put myself into it…" Namikaze Minoru said in a matter of fact tone as he removed the last of Uchiha Menma's disguise.

Yui grumbled disjointedly to herself.

Shaking the last of the morning dew that cling onto his blonde locks, Minoru look at the direction of the Hokage Monument where the edifice of his aniki's face is carved proudly.

The blonde sighed tiredly and took an ANBU mask out of his knapsack.

"Ever since I accepted this mask," smiling ruefully, Minoru stared at the black porcelain mask with a face full of unexplained emotions. "I have denounced everything I had own… Including my own name."

"Life of being a shinobi is really cruel, don't you think?" Yui commented halfheartedly. "Now I am starting to worry for my Naru-chan…"

With a slight smirk, Minoru puts on Panther's mask. Getting ready for the night, he stood and walks back, passing by the female kitsune.

"This is why I… we exist," Panther said. A gust of wind surrounds them signaling the arrival of his most trusted companions. Weasel and Owl stood quietly watching their interaction.

Up to this day, he still refuses to call them his underlings. Technically, he is the brains of this 'unknown' organization while Weasel stands as the authority or face of leadership. Truth be told, the Uchiha heir did handle the position perfectly.

"We are the shadow that protects the village hidden among the leaves. We, who are tasked to protect the legacy of our leaders and those who gave up their lives to ensure the will of fire burn brightly as always…"

Turning her back, Yui blew a raspberry and brushed away a few strands of hair off her face. When she felt them leave, the fox demon frowned.

"Surely you know your limitations, Minoru-sama. Not everything can be dealt with behind the shadows even with all the power that you have." Baring her canines at nothing in particular, Yui started to walk back the Uchiha manor.

"When that day comes, I really do hope that Naruto would give you a good punch." Reverting back to her true form, the fox disappears in her own fashionable manner.

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Day One – Chuunin Selection Exams…

Fidgeting quietly, Naruto bit her lips to stop herself from screaming. Surely, this exam is nothing compared to the hardships she felt under Kiara's rigorous training. Though Iori indulge her a little whenever the said Uzumaki woman is nowhere in sight, but still.

Naruto wanted to disappear using her father's jutsu and never come back from this dreaded place. However, knowing the consequences and the effects it will bring to the others…

Sakura will definitely kill her.

And Sasuke.

Though Sasuke will definitely understand, she doesn't want him to feel that the girl he chose among the others is scared of a little piece of paper. And the said paper is silently mocking her with all those blank lines asking for what little to none at all knowledge of complex shinobi issues surrounding some specific scenarios.

If it is up to her, she'd rather charge into the fight, defeat the bad guys and think later. Not that there is something to think about during those moments. She prefers to trust her instinct. Kyuu-chan did mention that she is a natural when it comes to what she feels in her gut.

Giving another weary sigh, the blonde started to glare at the said paper hoping that it will help solve the issue. From her side, Naruto heard a small giggle. Turning to her left, she saw the pale eyed girl named Hinata. She is one of Sasu-teme's friends in the Academy.

Naruto blushed and went back to her test paper crouching low enough to hide the embarrassment that is clearly visible in her face.

'Kyuu! Do something…' Naruto thought shakily to herself. The fox himself grumbled annoyingly towards her as he proceeded to sleep in his favorite spot in her forest mindscape, pretending not to hear anything.

'Kyuuuuu-chaaaan!'

"Leave me alone BRAT, I'm taking my afternoon nap!" Kurama snapped while baring his canines. And to make matters worse, Naruto gave her signature puppy eye look which he avoided diligently.

When that day comes, succumbing to those eyes would be fatal and would be much deadlier than being controlled by Uchiha Madara's eyes.

Their one-sided conversation took longer than expected as Naruto fell asleep trying to beg all the answers from the Kyuubi. Sasuke chuckled quietly as he notices the blonde's little ministrations. He doesn't have to guess what is going on inside Naruto's mindscape. Deactivating his Sharingan, the Raven crossed his fingers, brooded silently and waited for the written examination to end.

Eyeing everyone, he already noticed some people who definitely did not belong. They must be the 'source'.

Around them, fellow shinobis from Konoha as well as from the other villages took their part in gathering information. It will take a very observant person to know that this exam is to determine how good one person is in gathering valuable data.

Knowing Morino Ibiki's style, many will fail even before the real test begins. The only slight worry that he have right now is Naruto. Though Naruto favors everything about sealing scrolls, the girl does not like anything about written examinations. She can even create seals out of nowhere judging from her earlier prank towards Kakashi-sensei and the bright colored paint on the Hokage Monument months before.

As the head of the Konoha Gomon-Jinmon Butai (Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force) took his place in front of the examinees to finalize the first round, Sasuke took a deep breath and hoped for the best. Naruto may not be the sharpest kunai in the batch but her unpredictability would be enough able to overcome and succeed Ibiki's mind games.

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As Mitarashi Anko literally took a particular genin away from him after the said person took her stand while influencing the others much like a certain person he knew, Ibiki laughed quietly to himself and collected the rest of the test papers to see how the others fare up on the said 'written exams'. When he looks up, he saw a familiar masked ANBU sitting on Uzumaki Naruto's assigned seat staring at her test paper.

"Despite being clueless with her skills, now I know where she got her charisma…"

The said ANBU stood while holding Naruto's test paper. "Is that so?"

Taking the paper from his hands and looking at its contents or lack thereof, Ibiki gave a loud boisterous laugh much to the others amusement.

"Indeed, the similarity is almost palpable, don't you think?"

Panther smiled behind his mask and started to walk away. Remembering the same scenario that he had when he himself took the said exams.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to imply, Ibiki-senpai. Nevertheless, I'm glad that she passed this round…"

"Yes. It is almost a relief. But knowing that woman…" Clucking his tongue in annoyance after staring sullenly at the snake mistress' props.

"I believe in her skills… And so are her teammates. I'm sure they'll be able to survive her antics…"

Humming disinterestedly as Ibiki continues to collect the remaining of the test papers, he added in a low voice. "Perhaps. But when she saw her, she immediately knew who the girl was…" Chuckling darkly, the scarred jonin glances at the broken pieces of glass. Ah yes, he still needs to file a report for the mess Anko did earlier ignoring the sudden tense look on Panther's demeanor.

"She grabs the Uzumaki heiress and took her away much to the surprise of her teammates and the other brats… Drags her to Kami-sama knows where after introducing herself and the location of the next exams. It was chaos I tell you…" Glancing towards his direction, Ibiki wasn't even surprised when the said ANBU was nowhere to be seen.

Shaking his head in amusement, Ibiki shrugged indifferently. "Too predictable, hmm. No wonder she likes to play this game of hers…"

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Training Ground 44, Forest of Death…

"Who the hell are you woman? Let me go!" Naruto yelled indignantly as she flails both her arms to escape Anko's tight grip. The busty woman didn't even move a muscle and chuckles amusingly at her.

"Don't fret, little one..." Anko said with a grin while patting her head like a pup. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just wanted to take a closer look…" Eyes glinting mischievously, the tokubetsu jonin snuggled closer to the blonde Uzumaki.

Much to Naruto's chagrin, the black haired woman sniffs at her like a dog, forced her to open her mouth to look at her teeth and looks at her eye while nodding to herself for some morbid interest and fascination.

Thankfully, the rest of the genins who passed the first stage came one after the other. Sensing Sasuke and Sakura among them, she calls for them frantically asking for help.

"Help me!" The blonde wailed hysterically but the woman covered her mouth. Itachi's little brother rushed towards them followed by a pink haired kunoichi.

Ah yes, Kakashi's brats.

Smiling sinisterly to herself, Anko knew that he is somewhere in the vicinity judging from his chakra fluctuations.

He is definitely furious.

"Took you long enough, brats!" She said welcoming the others to her most favorite place in the entire elemental countries. "As I've already mentioned, I will be your next proctor for the Chuunin Selection Exams. And this…" Gesturing from the forest behind her surrounded by a metallic fence with numerous gates at each interval, Anko smiled sadistically at them. "…This is where some of you will meet your end."

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Author's note:
Looks like I'd made some inconsistencies with Haruno Shinji's death… Oh well, might fix it later or just let it be till I decided to re-write the said chapters :) My bad.

Also, would like to apologize for being late. And this chapter is kind of short… Been very very busy at work and never had the chance to do a chapter or two.

Anyways, till next chapter.

Ja ne!

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