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There isn't much in the way of AU changes this chapter. The first change is I gave ANBU a base. I looked around and was surprised to see that, cannon wise, there isn't a base mentioned. Given that they need a place to meet and train, I gave them a base. The second change is I gave Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro a last name. Given who their father is, it doesn't make sense that they don't have a last name.
Reponses to your awesome reviews are at the bottom.
MachFarcon does not own Naruto.
And here's the next chapter! Chapter 14: What The Mask Hides
Naruto slowly made his way across the village. Kakashi-Sensei had finally finished his explanation on puberty, sex, and the female body. Now the blonde knew what those strange feelings were, but he now had a new problem. How was he supposed to act the same when he knew he was attracted to the girls? Naruto shook his head. He wouldn't let his feelings get in the way of protecting his precious people!
Kakashi fought the urge to whistle as he ambled his way to his house. Tonight had went about as well as he expected, but not as good as he hoped. It seems that Naruto inherited the legendary genes of Minato 'I'm completely oblivious to women who are not the girl I like' Namikaze. Although...,Kakashi let a giggle escape, Naruto did like three girls…
The grey haired ninja knew he had to be careful. If any of the other members from Team Eight learned about his talk with Naruto, they might beat him to death. Or at least try to. And if he accidently hurt them while defending himself, Naruto would beat him to death. "Hmmmm..." Kakashi thought, "Perhaps I could distract Kurenai with Asuma. Anko said that they have been dancing around each other for quite some time..." Kakashi shrugged, a slight grin appearing unseen beneath his cloth mask. He had somehow failed to mention what a blushing girl meant to Naruto. What kind of trouble would that cause? Kakashi chuckled. It would certainly be amusing to watch, perhaps as entertaining as rereading Icha Icha.
Naruto entered the house absentmindedly, his mind still coming to terms with the fact that he was attracted to three different girls. Not only did they most likely not return his affection, but how could he ever choose between them if they somehow did return his attraction? As Naruto entered the living room, Sakura and Hinata murmured a greeting to him from their positions in the room. They were both sitting down studying a training theory scroll that Anko had given them. For Sakura, it was a scroll on several different poisons and their effects. For Hinata, it was a scroll on combining elemental chakra with taijutsu. As they returned to their scrolls, they missed Naruto stop and really look at them for the first time.
Naruto noticed that Sakura had cut her hair, it's newly shortened length framing her face quite nicely. He blushed as he noticed her athletic form, any traces of lingering of baby fat burned away. Her quiet dedication and her focus was an attractive quality he decided. Naruto felt the blood rising up to his face even more, so he turned his gaze to Hinata.
Her long blue hair and graceful posture gave her a natural elegance that few could match. Naruto felt his cheeks flush as he noticed her curvy figure. Naruto tilted his head to the side. Naruto thought about her unending confidence in him, and how it gave him a warm feeling. The blonde Uzumaki still didn't know why Hinata-Chan, Sakura-Chan, or Haku-Chan had such confidence in him, but he knew that their confidence felt good, like he could do anything; overcome anyone or anything. It was humbling and yet awe inspiring to know that those he cared about cared about him as well. Naruto flushed and quickly headed out of the living room, realizing that he had spent several minutes staring at Sakura-Chan and Hinata-Chan.
The blonde was waylaid by the glorious smell of cooking ramen, his sensitive nose leading him to the kitchen where Haku was quietly humming as she cooked the food. Naruto was brought up short as he entered, Haku was wearing a kimono with an apron over it. Dispute its simplicity, it still brought a flush to his face. There was the familiar feeling of home when he looked at Haku-Chan, but now he was also completely aware of her more...feminine assets. While she had neither Sakura's athletic form, nor Hinata's more curvaceous one, Haku was a very feminine blend of the two. Haku turned and greeted the blonde.
"Naruto-Sama! Since you had to go to training late this evening, I put on a fresh pot of ramen for you!" Haku's deep brown eyes - deeper and fuller then Naruto could remember - gazed at him as she continued, "It will be ready in about fifteen minutes!" Haku watched her Naruto-Sama stammer out his thanks before he almost sprinted from the room. She tilted her head to the side as she pondered his strange actions. Had that been a blush on his face? She shook her head at her foolish thoughts. Naruto-Sama wouldn't think of her in that way. She was, after all, just his servant.
As Naruto headed up the stairs to take his first cold shower, Sakura turned to Hinata. "D-Did Naruto-Kun check us out?" The pink haired girl flushed at the thought of her Naruto-Kun looking at her in that way.
"I-I don't know…" Hinata responded, her voice uncertain. "But I hope so!"
It was official, Yugao decided, Naruto was a prodigy when it came to swords. Well, that wasn't it, not exactly. It was almost as if he knew the motions and stances already but had forgotten them, and was just slowly remembering them as he practiced. It had been only two weeks since she and Hayate had gotten the blonde his Katana, but Naruto had already mastered the basics. Currently the only thing holding the blonde back was his poor chakra control. But Hayate was working with the blonde to see if they could come up with any alternatives since there wasn't any reason Naruto shouldn't use the massive chakra he had to his advantage. She glanced at the sun. It was almost time for her to spar with Naruto in their weekly sparring match. She was pushing to train the blonde as much as possible, for it would only be a few short weeks until Bear fully recovered. Then they would be cleaning house in the ANBU and there was a high likelihood she would not survive.
Yugao dropped from the tree, gaining the attention of Hayate and Naruto. "Naruto-San," The purple haired woman reminded, "It is time for our weekly spar."
Naruto grinned, ready to spar. Few things could pump him up more than a spar. In a spar he didn't have to watch himself, to make sure he didn't blush or react differently when Hinata-Chan, Sakura-Chan, or Haku-Chan leaned close to him or touched him. Naruto knew that their actions were innocent, but his body didn't seem to really care. Luckily, he had clones to switch out with when he needed to take the occasional cold shower.
Naruto sheathed his Katana. For now he had the sword and its sheath strapped to his back, much like Yugao-Sensei. He moved exactly twenty-five paces from the purple-haired woman and slowly brought his hand up to rest on the handle of the still sheathed sword. Across from him, Yugao mirrored his actions. Hayate slowly pulled out the senbon he had been idly chewing on out of his mouth and slowly rotated it through his fingers, eyeing the two fighters.
Naruto's focus narrowed, his body tensing as adrenaline began to slowly trickle into his veins.
Hayate's index and middle finger snapped forward, sending the senbon racing through the air above the two sword-users. A lone leaf slowly drifted silently towards the ground, recently cut from its tree. It touched the ground. Both Kenjutsu users exploded into action. The sharp clash of steel echoed across the training ground.
Naruto snapped his blade forward in a cross cut. Yugao deflected the blade and counter attacked, her blade swinging in a tight arc. Naruto spun his sword in a counter clockwise circle, shoving the attacking weapon out of his way as he slashed upward. Yugao spun to the side, allowing the blade to pass by before surging her blade forward, thrusting it at the blonde's chest!
Naruto let go of the sword, time seeming to slow. Yugao's sword slowly moved towards his unprotected chest. His katana dropped point first towards the ground. The Uzumaki's torso twisted, his right arm moving outwards as his left moved in front of him. The blonde's left hand grabbed the free-falling sword's hilt in a reverse grip, shoving the Yugao's sword to the far right. The purplette's sword was forced out of the way as Uzumaki continued to spin, once again letting go of the katana, flicking the handle upwards as he did. His right hand grabbed the handle as he completed his spin, the blade stopping a hairs-breadth away from the shocked Yugao.
Naruto blinked. "What just happened?" He had been fighting Yugao sensei when she dodged his attack, leaving him open. It then was a blur of instinct and movement, and his sword was now resting against the neck of his wide-eyed of his sensei. Naruto jerked the sword away from Yagao, not wanting to hurt her.
Yugao stepped back, her eyes still wide. While she had meant to press Naruto, to push him to his limits, she had never expected this! When she had thrusted her sword forward, Naruto had suddenly blurred into action, displaying a speed and skill she had been unable to keep up with. Seeing the utterly confused look on the blonde's face, she figured he didn't know what happened either.
"W-What did I just do?" Naruto questioned out loud, his voice echoing his bewildered state. Yugao was at a loss. Kenjutsu was an art, and a difficult one at that. No one, no matter how talented, came up with a perfect counter by instinct. It just didn't work like that. You couldn't develop instincts without training them first.
"Naruto-San," Hayate suddenly requested, his tone unreadable, "Could you drop into your favorite stance for me?" Hayate stared in shock as Naruto dropped into a completely different stance they had taught him. In fact, it looked to be a dual-sword stance! What was going on?
Naruto settled into his stance, not noticing Hayate's look. It was strange, but his left hand felt empty, as if it should be holding something. "That's enough Naruto-San." Yugao spoke, almost managing to hide the utter shock in her voice. "There's something not right going on here." Spotting the look of confusion on Naruto's face, she elaborated. "You somehow instinctively attacked me with a perfect Kenjusu move. Which isn't bad! However, you gained those instincts from somewhere, and that's what is worrying." Yugao swallowed ever so slightly, remembering the blade flashing towards her neck. "We will take a break for today and when we meet again in two days, hopefully I'll have answers for you by then." Naruto nodded, concerned about these new instincts had nearly killed Yugao-Sensei.
A week later Yugao nor any of the others she had talked to came any closer to figuring out what had happened during the kenjustu spar between Naruto and herself. Over the last few days Naruto had become afraid of his sword, fearing the blade would harm the ones he held dear. It had gotten to the point that he would hesitate to draw his sword, even in a spar. After one sparring match that Naruto failed to even attempt to fight with his sword, Hayate took the blonde to one of the brown-haired swordsman's favorite training spots. It was a waterfall surrounded by a calm, crystal clear pool of water. Hayate used to train on the pool, the constant change of the water surface increasing his awareness of his surroundings as well as fine-tuning his chakra control.
"Ah," Hayate commented as he sat on one of the larger rocks surrounding the pool, "It's good sometimes to just sit back and relax." He glanced over at Naruto. "Don't you think Naruto-San?" Naruto grunted, his mind still trying to find ways to use the sword without anyone around, so he couldn't hurt any of his precious people. The brown-haired swordsman sighed. "Naruto-San," Hayate quietly asked, "What is the purpose of a sword?"
"To protect." Naruto instantly replied.
Hayate shook his head, a small bittersweet smile forming at Naruto's answer. When Hayate himself was starting to train with a sword all those years ago, he had answered the same way. Hayate's humor vanished as he remembered what his teacher had said to him. "No Naruto-San. You can't protect with a sword. The sword has only one purpose: To kill." Naruto looked over at Hayate in surprise.
"But I don't want to kill just to kill!" Naruto protested, thinking of all of his precious people he needed to protect.
"But that's all a blade does. It's what it's designed for. But," Hayate turned to Naruto, his voice offering hope to the despondent blonde, "You can choose to draw your blade in defense of another. To stop the enemy from ever harming them!"
Naruto sat quietly, his mind carefully going over Hayate's words. The brown-haired swordsman patiently waited, knowing that Naruto would have to come to terms with what a sword was, just like Hayate did himself. "So my sword is just an instrument of death." Naruto mused, half introspectively. A few minutes passed. "That's all right." Naruto decided, coming to terms with his sword's potential, "I will protect my precious people! Even if I have to draw the sword of the Shinigami to do it!" As Naruto stood up he reached back to grasp the hilt of his sword. He turned to face Hayate, his hands now steady on the hilt, his focus no longer uncertain. "I will resume my sword training!"
It was the middle of September when Cat and Bear met in the Hokage's waiting area outside the Hokage's office. During the last month the two ANBU had trained Naruto as much as they could. Sadly Yugao hadn't figured out what was giving Naruto the occasional Kenjutsu instinct, but a few precautions had ensured the safety of his sparring partners. Yugao sighed, barely keeping her emotions in check. Hayate had figured out that she might not survive this mission. He didn't know what the mission was, but he somehow knew that her chances weren't good. Last night he had told her something, had said those words she secretly longed to hear for so long.
"Yugao," Hayate said, his normally composed voice on the verge of losing its calm, "I know that you don't expect to survive the mission tomorrow. I also know that I cannot go with you. And it tears me up inside." Hayate swallowed. "But you're not going to die tomorrow. Because if you do, I'll drag you back to the world of the living no matter the cost!"
Tears dripped from Yugao's eyes as she listened to her lover's words. "And do you know why?" Hayate asked, his voice full of more passion then she had ever heard. The purple-haired woman shook her head, tears now streaming down her face. "Because I love you."
Yugao let out a choked sob and leapt onto of the brown haired man, slamming her lips on his with a desperate passion. As they made love that night, desperate to feel each other one last time before the mission, Yugao couldn't help but feel like this was a goodbye. Even as her body arched in passionate embrace and her lover's name tumbled out of her lips in a sensual plea, she knew she would have to cherish this night. In the morning they hadn't said good-bye to each other, both feeling that if they did, it would be their final goodbye.
Bear glanced over at Cat, sensing something different about her. She seemed both elated and impossibly sad. He made his way across the waiting area to stand next to the purple-haired operative. "What is troubling you?" He made it his utmost effort to keep his voice comforting and non-judgmental.
"Hayate-Kun said..." Yugao's voice only had a trace of trembling, "H-He said he loved me."
Bear was glad that his mask hid the surprise on his face. He hadn't thought that the sword user would work up the courage to make such a commitment to Yugao. Bear's eyes hardened. Yugao would survive this mission, even if it cost him his life! He would not let Hayate feel the pain of having lost the one you have given your heart to. Bear knew what it was like, and he would never wish such agony on any of his precious people!
The Hokage called, and the two ANBU members headed inside their leader's office.
"Welcome!" Hiruzen greeted the two operatives. "We have much to discuss. Kakashi Hatake has investigated ANBU and identified several ANBU operatives that still are loyal to the village. Operatives Wolf, Hawk, Neko, Dove, and Tiger will be joining us for the assault. There may be two other ANBU members, Ox and Deer, who could be swayed to our cause. Raccoon and Inugami are currently away on a mission."
The Hokage's eyes hardened. "However, make no mistake! The other ANBU operatives have betrayed the village, spitting on everything it was founded on! They must be dealt with harshly! Show no mercy!" The Third Hokage took a deep breath before ordering, "Gather your weapons and meet the other ANBU operatives outside the South Gate! Operation Unmask begins now!"
As the door to his office clicked shut, Hiruzen sighed, feeling every inch his age. He knew that he had just sent at least one of his ANBU to their deaths. They had willingly signed up to become ANBU, knowing that they may pay the final cost. But knowing that they would willingly die for the village was a cold comfort to Hiruzen. But he was determined that the village would change for the better. No matter the cost; no matter if it cost the blood of his enemies, his allies, or even his own. Konoha would once again remember why it was considered the greatest village!
Bear and Yugao landed outside of the South Gate. Neko flashed a wave in their direction, while Hawk bowed. Wolf gave a slight nod of greeting while he continued to sharpen his fang-like daggers. Dove was quiet, the medic nin preparing herself for the battle ahead. Tiger was praying, his head bent as he murmured a familiar prayer for the upcoming battle.
Bear stepped forward. "Brothers! Sisters! We all know why we are here today! Today there we have been called to eliminate the traitorous ANBU! But make no mistake, they are no longer our brothers and sisters! We swore an oath to protect this village, from without or within!" His voice dropped, sadness laced in his tone, "They were our family, the ones closest to us. And they betrayed us. Tried to kill us. Why? For the sake of hatred; for the sake of revenge; for the sake of vengeance. They conspired to hurt and kill a child whose only crime was existing!"
Bear's voice hardened, his determination visible as he swept his hand towards the village. "We all have seen it! How the village has turned from the powerful force of good and justice to this...thing that only cares for money and itself! A village that doesn't care for those who keep it safe!" Bear's voice grew slightly introspective. "I was like you not long ago, living my life resigned to the fact that I would lose those around me to the dark. But," His voice grow in strength with every word, "I met the most important person. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He doesn't have a complex political agenda or a love for money. Naruto-San's goal in life is simple: 'I will protect the ones I care about. No matter the cost.' "
Bear met each of the assembled operatives' eyes. "And he taught me something. The village is just a thing; just a location. But the people inside it, that's what matters." Bear spread his arms towards the village. "There is so many people I cherish in this place. I will protect them!"
Silence blanketed the area as the assembled ANBU realized that this was more than just another simple mission. It was a declaration, declaring 'I will protect those I care about'.
Cat moved forward. "I will protect!" The purple-haired Kenjutsu user thought of her precious Hayate and her student Naruto, as well as all the other people she cared about.
Neko and Hawk stepped forward beside Cat. "We will protect!"
Tiger strode forward. "I will protect!"
Dove took her place by her teammate and declared, "I will protect!"
Wolf slowly stood, his movement slightly reminiscent of some predator. "I will protect!"
It was only a short time later when the ANBU team arrived outside the ANBU headquarters. It was an assuming building on the outside. It's appearance was a storage facility, the very definition of boring. It had plain walls and even a plainer sign. But inside was a different story. There was a network of tunnels and hidden rooms, each one designed to foil or slow down intruders. The ANBU team knew every inch of the layout, but they weren't so foolish to think that the rebel ANBU inside wouldn't be waiting for them.
The bell let out a sharp ding noise as the ANBU team entered the building. The dusty shelves gave an illusion of a going-out-of-business shop. Like he had done countless times before, Bear moved the pair of stylized statues that depicted a cat and dog out of the way, and pressed his hand against the seal hidden beneath them. The Bear-masked man felt the slightest pinch of pain as the seal mechanism took a sample of his blood. The seal flashed green for the briefest of seconds before fading back into the wood. With a silent hiss the floor in front of Bear slowly tilted downwards, exposing the bright-white walls of the ANBU headquarters entrance. Bear and his team of loyal ANBU headed down into the light.
There hadn't been any traps in the entrance way, Bear mused as he and his team entered the main foyer area of the ANBU base. Numerous pathways branched out from the large hall. Bear's hands snapped up and directed the ANBU he had brought with him to split up into their normal teams for search and destroy missions. Tiger and Dove headed down the far western corridor, while Neko and Hawk took the eastern. Wolf, ANBU's lone solo operative, headed down the south-western path. Bear and Cat walked straight ahead.
In only a few minutes they spotted a group of ANBU waiting for them, but they didn't have their weapons drawn. "Bear!" Elk, the apparent leader of the ANBU, called over to Bear and Cat, "So good to see you! When we heard about that terrible business over in the land of tea we feared the worst! But here you are! Still alive!"
"But it's alright." The Elk assured the two, "Dragonfly has returned from his latest mission and he will help you two!" The leader's voice grew compassionate as he continued. "We know that the demon had altered your mind, forcing you to fight against your brethren. It has bewitched you, turning you into something I know you are not! Please," Elk pleaded, "Let us help you!"
Bear chuckled for a moment, his bitter laughter echoing in the corridor. "Is that what you think? That Naruto Uzumaki has somehow taken our minds?" Bear's chuckles tapered off. "There is proof that Naruto-San isn't the Kyubi! Why don't you believe it?"
Elk heaved a deep sigh. "It doesn't matter. Either Naruto Uzumaki is the demon itself, or he is it's jailor. Regardless, we had given it enough reason to want to destroy Konoha! The village we all swore to defend!" Elk slowly drew his sword, the quiet rasp of the blade leaving the sheath seeming impossibly loud. "You will not relent?" He asked Cat and Bear as they drew their swords, the ANBU leader's voice full of sadness. Taking their silence for an answer, he sighed before burying his feelings deep within. He would mourn over the his traitorous brothers and sisters after the battle, remembering them before the demon stole them away. "Attack!" Elk's voice was resigned, final. And with those words, the ANBU conflict began!
Rabbit blurred forwards, his hands already on the final seal of his favorite fire technique. Bear's hands blurred in response, causing the floor to rise up as a shield. Heat blasted Cat and Bear as they took refuge from Rabbit's flames. Cat tensed, reading herself for the charge towards the enemy ANBU. She would not; could not falter in her grim task, for Hayate, the one she loved, was waiting for her.
Rabbit swept the corridor one final time with his flames before stopping his fire. The moment the last flickers of the flame went out, Cat surged down the hallway. Blood sizzled across the hot wall as Rabbit fell, a lethal slash opened across his neck. Spider was the next to die, her hands being unable to complete the water jutsu before Cat's blade opened her from hipbone to shoulder. Turtle managed to block Yugao's strike, only to be skewered by a spike that shot out from the wall, courtesy of Bear. Elk cursed as he defended himself from Cat's strike.
The broken body of the rebel ANBU hit the wall with a sickening crunch after being hit by Tiger's blow. Beside him, Dove flicked her wrist to clean off the scalpel like blade. Her hands glowed green as she healed the injuries she and Tiger had sustained during the last fight. Tiger murmured a quick prayer for his fallen brethren, morning their passing even as he had to end their lives. Tiger cast a quick affectionate glance at his teammate before steeling himself for the fights ahead. The team of two headed deeper into the base.
Neko and Hawk were silent as they wrapped their wounds. The vocal pair would have normally taunted their opponents, but the rebel ANBU had been their family. Neko retrieved her golden senbons from her enemies' bodies, cleaning them off with a small cloth before placing them back in her hair. Beside her, Hawk rubbed his right upper arm, his specialized curse tattoo always gave him phantom pains after he used it. "Ready Komachi?" He asked his partner. She nodded, her blonde hair bouncing slightly.
Wolf slowly sheathed his dual fang swords, a unseen scowl on his face as he surveyed the corpses in the room he was in. Wolf was the only ANBU operative without a partner. He specialized in assassination and silent killing. Fear was a weapon he used, separating each enemy, taking them down one by one. The wolf-masked man scowled as he remembered the fear on his former friends' faces. It was wrong, he reflected, that he should have to use his honed skill against the only family he ever had. Wolf shook his head. He would protect those he cared about. He studiously ignored the fact that he had never really learned exactly what caring meant. Konoha's Shuryo Okami melted into shadow.
Ox stood alongside Deer as they surveyed their fallen former brethren. Dog-Sama had quietly come to them and informed them about the terrible truth of their actions. Ox was sickened that he himself had allowed the travesties to befall Naruto Uzumaki under his watch. Ox had stood by while the angry crowds had taken the young blonde away, ignoring the child's pleas for help. Ox had vowed to make up for his heinous actions. When Dog-Sama had told him of the Hokage's plan to clean house in the ANBU, the large man had instantly agreed to betray his former friends. Ox and Deer distanced themselves from the rebel ANBU, realizing that quite a few of them had joined in the mobs that had so cruelly hurt the young Naruto.
Cat grunted as she blocked another strike from Mongoose by pure instinct. While she and Bear had made a good initial strike, Elk had quickly re-directed forces to his position. Soon Bear and Cat had to defend themselves from both sides, weapons and jutsus thrown in equal measure. Occasionally the two had been hit, each injury making them slightly slower. Bear had taken several slashes to his torso and been severely scorched by a fire jutsu. Yugao had taken a few hits to her arms and legs, and a lightning jutsu had temporarily blinded her. The searing pain of Mongoose's blade biting deep across her stomach pulled an involuntary cry of pain from the purple-haired woman's lips as she crumpled to the ground, desperately holding her wound.
Mongoose grinned darkly behind his mask and raised his sword to finish off Cat. He swung.
The sword abruptly stopped, its blade halting mere inches from Yugao's face. Mongoose glanced over to see what had grabbed his arm only to pale in realization as he followed the blood covered arm up to Bear's enraged countenance. Mongoose struggled to free his arm from Bear's impossibly tight vice-like grip. With his free hand Bear unhooked his mask, letting it fall from his face as he swallowed three round pills.
"I am Daiki Akimichi." An ominous feeling settled in the corridor as Bear spoke. Bright blue chakra wings sprouted from his back, his chakra signature skyrocketing. "AND I AM THE BEAR!"
Mongoose didn't have time to scream before his skull was crushed with one hit of Bear's fists, the Akimichi's already impressive strength increased ten-fold by the special chakra pills. Mongoose slumped to the ground bonelessly. Elk instantly realized the immense danger Bear now posed and instantly reacted, commanding the forces under him to attack the unstoppable Akimichi. Jutsu and weapons flew towards Bear. What Daiki didn't dodge with impressive speed was ignored. Mortal wounds that would have dropped another man didn't faze Daiki, for he was beyond death, a dead man walking.
Dragonfly slammed into the wall as Bear charged past, the vicious backhand from the Akimichi snapping Dragonfly's neck like a twig. Falcon was sent skidding to the side, Bear's punch crunching his ribs and spine. Bear was suddenly in front of Elk, the leader of the rebel ANBU. Elk thrust his blade at Bear, hoping to finally stop the raging juggernaut. His blade hit flesh.
Bear closed his hand around the sword penetrating his hand, keeping the blade firmly in place. His right hand snap up, lightning fast, and grabbed the top of Elk's head. Bear's hand began squeezing tighter with impossible strength with every word he spoke, his voice and killing intent crushing everyone within hearing distance. "I! WILL! PROTECT!" With a wet crunch Elk's skull gave way, painting the floor and walls with blood and bone.
Bear turned to the shocked rebel ANBU. "Surrender!" His voice allowed for no alternative then complete obedience. Stunned, intimidated, and leaderless the rebel ANBU had no choice but to lay down their arms and surrender as the rest of Bear's team burst into the corridor. After the rebel ANBU had been secured, and Dove had stopped Cat's bleeding, only then did Daiki let himself sink to the floor. Darkness slowly encroached on his vision as he was surrounded by his friends. "I did it Naruto-Sensei! I saved them!" And with those thoughts giving him comfort, Bear died with a smile, surrounded by his friends; his precious people.
Hayate let out a despondent sigh as he left Yugao's hospital room. Yugao had gotten hurt on her last mission two days ago, and despite the fact that she had received medical attention, she had lost a significant amount of blood and had taken heavy damage to her abdominal area. The blood loss and the damage had left Yugao in a coma. As Hayate left for the day to go train Naruto, he thought about the silver ring with two small diamonds set in it that he had planned on giving Yugao-Chan when she had gotten back from her mission. Now, the ring lay hidden in the bottom of his drawer, waiting for the day the purple-haired woman he loved would wake up.
Two weeks had passed since Bear had died and Yugao had gotten hurt on their classified mission. During the time Team Eight had trained harder than ever, seeking grow strong enough to protect each other. Yugao's mission had been a cruel and harsh reality check; that it would take only one slip for the unthinkable to happen. Sakura and Hinata trained themselves into exhaustion each day, pushing themselves to their limits. Haku trained and was slowly perfecting her bloodline, slowly creating her own unique style of combat that was deadly when she was alone and positively lethal she was with her precious people. Naruto had learned that he needed only four hours of sleep to function, and a mere six hours to heal practically any training related injury. He took advantage of the time when his precious people were sleeping to train even more, determined that none of his precious people would die on his watch. Today, however, Kurenai had a very important topic to discuss with her students.
"Hello," Kurenai greeted her student's warmly, "Did you all sleep well?"
Sakura and Naruto nodded, the former having grown used to sleeping in her new home. The blonde Uzumaki had gotten so used to hiding his nightmares that it was now second nature. Hinata on the other hand flushed bright red as she remembered flashes of her particularly good dream. Over the past two weeks she, as well as Sakura and Haku, had noticed that sometimes Naruto would stare at them; as if he had found the beautiful treasure he had ever seen. As a result, the blue-haired Hyuga's dreams had slowly taken a more...mature turn on occasion.
Kurenai expertly hid her smile at Hinata's face. It seemed that Anko had rubbed off on the gentle Hyuga more then she had thought. Not that Kurenai herself could judge. Over the last few weeks she had somehow ended up alone with Asuma-Ku...Asuma-San a number of times. Their conversations were easy as always, but she was always slightly distracted by him. Still, she had a few dreams of the more adult nature about him...not that she would ever admit it.
Kurenai shook her head, dispelling her thoughts. "I'm glad you are well rested. As you may know, the Chunin exams are coming up early next summer. I found out yesterday that they are being held right here in Konoha. And as such, I am planning on entering Team Eight in the exams." The red-eyed Jonin glanced at her team. "So what are your thoughts?"
"I want to enter!" Naruto eagerly answered, wanting to gain access to higher level missions and training. Not only that, but once he made Chunin, he would be able to become the Head of the Uzumaki clan, allowing him to better protect his precious people. And lastly, he always enjoyed a good fight.
"I wish to enter!" Sakura was next, not wanting to be left behind. The pinkette knew that her Naruto-Kun would be able to become the Head of the Uzumaki clan once he became Chunin, and Sakura knew-or perhaps hoped, with her hope boosted by logic-that there was other Uzumaki members out there somewhere. And once Naruto's position as Uzumaki clan head was announced, they would no doubt come to him. And then he could finally have a family. And perhaps, Sakura blushed to herself, he would want to start a family with her. Not only that, but the Chunin exams were dangerous, and the pink-haired girl would not stand by as her Naruto-Kun was put in danger.
Perhaps in another reality Hinata would have been conflicted, held prisoner by her lack of confidence. But this was not that reality. This Hinata was instead was determined, free of her fears of failure. "I wish to also enter." Hinata's voice was gentle, her voluntary training in politics and statesmanship showing. The blue haired girl knew that when - not if, such was her confidence in Naruto - her Naruto-Kun made Chunin, he would become the Head of the Uzumaki clan. When he did, he would instantly become a target for arranged marriages and potential seduction. While she never knew that Naruto would ever agree to such manipulations, Anko had taught Hinata and Sakura about the more subtle ways a kunoichi could obtain their target. Hinata would protect Naruto from these women; these sluts. And to do that, she would have to be Chunin. The Chunin exams would put her Naruto-Kun in danger, and she would not have him face them alone.
Kurenai smiled, proud of her students. When the Chunin exams came, Team Eight would do more than just survive, they would dominate. Kurenai would make sure if it!
Consciousness came slowly to Yugao. There was a dull throb in her abdomen, but it seemed more stiff from disuse then actual pain. The purple-haired woman slowly opened her eyes for the first time in over fourteen days, her eye lids protesting the movement. It was early morning from the looks of it, judging from the position of the sun streaming light into the window. A slight pressure on her left hand caused her to look towards the hand in question. A larger hand, male from the looks of it, held her hand in his. It took Yugao only the briefest of seconds to recognize the hand. It was Hayate's. The purple-haired woman followed the arm up to its owner. Her eyes softened as she watched Hayate sleep in the chair beside her bed. A rush of a warm feeling, something suspiciously like love, washed over her as she beheld her lover.
Yugao's expression quickly shifted downwards into a frown as she leaned closer to her love. Dark circles under his eyes indicated that he had not been sleeping well. The lines of exhaustion told the purple-haired woman that he hadn't been sleeping much either. "How long have I been in the hospital?" Yugao wondered to herself. Spying a calendar on the far wall, the swordswoman sat up to take a closer look, being mindful to keep her hand perfectly still, not wanting to wake Hayate. Her sharp eyes traced the calendar looking for the day's date. The shock of learning it was fourteen days later caused her jerk back slightly, her hand pulling away from Hayate's unconscious hold.
Yugao cursed in her mind and quickly slid her hand back into Hayate's. But the damage was already done. Hayate slowly awoke, his groggy mind not immediately understanding the situation. To his credit, it took only perhaps ten seconds for the brown-haired swordsman to recognize the situation. Yugao was awake!
"Yugao!" Hayate swallowed the lump in his throat, almost overwhelmed at the sight of his Yugao-Chan alive and awake. "I missed you."
Tears pooled in Yugao's eyes before they fell, unnoticed at Yugao whispered back, "I missed you too." The purple-haired woman hesitated, before gathering her courage. It was silly, but she had always failed to say those three little words to Hayate. But she couldn't afford to wait any longer. She had almost died without ever telling Hayate her one secret. "I love you Hayate-Kun!" It was freeing, like a weight she hadn't known she was carrying was lifted. The smile that broke out on Hayate's face made it all the more worth it. Yugao knew there would be months of recovery ahead for her, but right now; in this moment with Hayate, she was at peace.
Autumn stretched into winter, and then the cold gave way to the new birth of spring. Soon the coolness of spring gave way to the warmness of early summer. Team Eight had gained renown during the intervening months, having completed every mission they were assigned with minimal time and maximum efficiency. When not on missions the team trained, working hard to ensure they would be able to protect the ones they cared about from any danger.
Hinata had gained immense skill with her clan's techniques as well as lightning jutsus. Her speed and precision had increased to the point that none of the Hyuga members would challenge the Hyuga heiress lightly.
Sakura had flourished under the guidance of Anko. The pinkette now blended the subtle art of genjutsu with water and poison attacks. Not only that, she had mastered her special technique and was capable of adding immense strength to her attacks.
Naruto had pushed himself to his limits, again and again, and each time broken those limits. The blonde was now considered a close-combat expert, by both kenjutsu and taijutsu standards. He had advanced in his wind chakra control to the point that he was not wasting any chakra when performing the techniques. Consequently, his wind chakra was absolutely devastating, giving the sheer amount of chakra he could pour into each technique without crippling himself. The Last Uzumaki's sealing expertise had grown as well, and Naruto was currently studying expert level sealing books.
But it wasn't all training. Shino was often seen with Team Eight at least several times a week. Soon after, the members of Team Ten -Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi- joined Team Eight for meals and occasionally training. Shikamaru had quickly figured out that Naruto was the jinchuriki of the Kyubi, but the Nara had simply told the blonde Uzumaki that 'it was too troublesome to treat him differently'. Privately however, Shikamaru had analyzed Naruto and come to the conclusion that Naruto wasn't a threat to anyone but those who threatened his precious people. And although the Nara would never admit it -given that it would be too troublesome- he considered Naruto his friend.
Choji grew in strength and skill as he trained alongside his team. Being close to Team Eight forced the Akimichi to grow stronger, least he be left far behind.
Ino showed the most improvement; simply because she had the farthest to go if she wanted to reach the bar set by Team Eight. The blonde-haired girl had realized that Naruto wasn't the loud, scrawny kid from the academy. Sometimes, in her most private moments, Ino wondered what it would be like for someone, some boy, to care for her as much as Naruto cared for Sakura, Hinata, and Haku.
The other members of Team Seven did not fare as well however. Kiba Inuzuka had grown distant from the others, having realized that he could only secure his position as clan head of the Inuzuka clan through blood, sweat, and skill. The young Kiba had quickly figured out that Naruto had long since surpassed him, but the brown-haired teenager hadn't been discouraged. Instead, he viewed the blonde Uzumaki as a measuring bar, a someone to measure his skills against.
By contrast, Sasuke Uchiha grew obsessed with beating Naruto in combat, deeming the blonde has the only person who was 'worthy' of being the Last Uchiha's rival. Sasuke, in an effort to become strong enough to defeat Naruto, trained himself into unconsciousness each night. As a result, his fighting prowess grew ever stronger. Still despite all of his training, beating Naruto was always out of reach. Sasuke hated Naruto with every ounce of his soul, but he was determined. Naruto would one day lay defeated and broken at his feet!
Kurenai smiled proudly at her students. She was so utterly proud of them, to have come so far in such a short time. And today all of that training paid off. "Naruto-Kun, Hinata-Chan, and Sakura-Chan," Kurenai began, making no attempt to hide how utterly proud she was, "You all have come so far; trained hard for this day. And now, it is my honor to give you each one of these papers!" The black-haired woman passed each of her students a paper.
"This is the confirmation letter for the Chunin exams!" Sakura exclaimed, quickly reading over the paper. "I'll get my parents to sign it right away!" Hinata and Sakura raced off, eager to get the necessary paper work signed. Naruto took his time and read the entire document, before shrugging and pulling a pen out of one of his small sealing scrolls. The blonde Uzumaku signed the paper before handing back to his sensei.
Kurenai blinked. Opened her mouth to ask Naruto exactly what he was doing when she froze. Of course Naruto signed the papers! He didn't have any parents! The red-eyed Jonin instantly felt terrible for reminding Naruto of the fact that his parents were dead. She hesitantly looked over in Naruto's direction, fearing to see the hurt deep within his sky-blue eyes. Kurenai met Naruto's dancing blue eyes, the blonde's excitement was almost contagious. Kurenai let out an inaudible sigh and relaxed, grateful that she hadn't brought up painful memories for the blonde.
"Who else would have entered their students?" Kurenai wondered as she watched Naruto spar with his clones, the blonde's energy having reached past the point he could sit still. "I'm fairly certain Guy will be entering his students. Kakashi is a given. I wonder if Asuma-Kun will be entering his students." The red-eyed woman blushed as she thought of the few kisses she shared with Asuma-Kun. During one of the weekly Jonin dinners/hang out times the lights had abruptly gone out in the restaurant. Caught unawares, Kurenai had been unprepared for shove -she suspected it was Anko - that threw the red-eyed woman onto another Jonin. The Jonin was also completely unprepared for the sudden addition of someone in their lap, and was unable to keep the wooden chair from falling backwards. Kurenai was startled as she fell forward, and her mouth parted in an involuntary gasp. Her exclamation was abruptly cut off when her lips landed against something soft and warm. Before the black-haired woman could fully understand what was happening, the lights came back on, illuminating the surprised Asuma beneath her, his lips touching hers.
Kurenai had jolted to her feet, her face burning. Before she could flee in complete embarrassment, Asuma had stopped her with his hand on her arm. She turned to face him, an apology forming on her lips when she was halted by the look on Asuma's face. The world slowly disappeared as they locked eyes. Kurenai's eyes fluttered close as their faces drifted closer, the pull of mutual attraction too strong to be ignored. Had she kept her eyes open, she would have seen Anko bump her fist with a seemingly expressionless Kakashi.
The new couple kept their status as a couple a secret, not wanting to distract their students from training. Not only that, but Kurenai still felt embarrassed by any displays of affection in public. The female Jonin was brought out of her pleasant remembrances by Naruto's concerned voice.
"Kurenai-Sensei!" The blonde peered close at his sensei, wondering why her cheeks were red. "What's wrong? Are you hot?" Kurenai flushed more before responding.
"N-Nothing is wrong Naruto-Kun! " Kurenai denied, cursing herself for stuttering. Naruto nodded, accepting his sensei's answer. After all, she was a Jonin, and thus knew her limits.
It was bright and early the next morning when Naruto awoke. Hurrying through his morning routine, the blonde trotted down the stairs to the dining room, eager to have another delicious breakfast. Haku had become quite the cook over the last eight months. Mebuki had taught the young woman many of her cooking skills and techniques. As Naruto waited for his breakfast, Sakura and Hinata walked into the dining room, also eager to start the important day.
"Are you ready for the exams Naruto-Kun?" Sakura inquired as she pulled out her chair and sat down.
"You bet!" Naruto grinned. "I can't wait to become Chunin! Not only will I get stronger to protect you guys, but we can go on more awesome missions together!"
"That is a good goal Naruto-Kun." Hinata praised. A moment later her voice took on a slightly more breathy tone. "Out of curiosity Naruto-Kun, have you put in any thought to what happens after you assume leadership of the Uzumaki clan?" Hinata's voice dropped into a whisper as she recalled one of Anko's off-hand comments. "You should restart your clan..."
"If any restarting is going to be had," Sakura shot in Hinata's direction, "It should be with someone who can take the pace." The pink-haired girl examined her nails. "Alas, one cannot have precision and stamina...unless they are Naruto-Kun..."
"Breaking the...ground won't restart anything." Hinata fired back, glaring heatedly at her best friend/rival. The blue-haired girl fumed as she watched Sakura smirk, both girls knowing that Sakura had won this round. Naruto's grateful thanks to Haku for the meal brought both girls out of their glaring match. Hinata also thanked the ice-user along with Sakura, but the pink-haired girl cast a slightly suspicious glance in Haku's direction. Over the past few months Sakura had noticed Haku would linger closer to Naruto then was strictly necessary, and gave the blonde long warm hugs. The pinkette shook her head. Even if Haku was trying to win Naruto-Kun in that way, she would fail along with Hinata. After all, Naruto could only marry one of them...
Haku let out a sigh as the door closed behind the members of Team Eight. The Ice-user clutched her hand to her chest as she thought of her Naruto-Sama. Over time the young woman had noticed that her feelings for Naruto-Sama had grown beyond the feelings between servant and master. "Perhaps", Haku bit her lip slightly, "Naruto-Sama has noticed me as a woman..." The black-haired girl shook her head violently as she scolded herself. "No! It doesn't matter! I am only Naruto-Sama's servent!"
"But you know how some servants...please their masters..." Some small traitorous part of her whispered. "No!" Haku shook her head again, "Naruto-Sama doesn't think of me in that way!" The ice-user looked around the room, seeking something to clear her thoughts. She had to prepare for the exams, for she knew that food and other goods would be raised in price to take advantage of the increased traffic for the final event in the Chunin exams. And Haku had no intentions of giving the village that had hurt Naruto-Sama any more money then she had to. The Ice-user busied herself, distracting herself from her less then professional thoughts about her master. "Anything for Naruto-Sama..." Some unacknowledged part of her whispered.
Naruto grinned as he walked with Hinata-Chan and Sakura-Chan down the street towards the Ninja Academy. The Ninja Academy was housing the first portion of the Chunin exams. Naruto knew that Genin teams would be coming from all of the various ninja villages to compete for the Chunin promotion. He idly wondered what other ninja villages were like; Would he be hated there too? Naruto cast a glance over at the two precious people walking slightly in front of him, happily chatting about something. No, Naruto decided, it didn't matter what the other villages were like. His precious people were here, and thus he would stay here too.
Naruto, noticing that he was falling behind, quickly sped up. As Naruto neared the two girls, a small brown-haired boy with a long blue scarf trailing behind him charged between Sakura and Hinata, heedless of their exclamations of surprise. The boy ran at Naruto, expecting the blonde to step aside like all of the others had. The boy promptly rammed into a wall made of flesh, bouncing backwards onto his rear. Shock flooded the brown-haired boy's features as he stared up at the blonde who he had run into. Shock quickly turned into indignation. "Do you know who I am?" The boy shouted as he scrambled to his feet.
Naruto turned to face the boy. "No." Naruto's tone indicated that the blonde didn't particularly care for someone who had disrupted Hinata-Chan's and Sakura-Chan's happy chatter.
"I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi!" The now identified Konohamaru stated proudly, expecting the blonde to apologize like everyone else did once they knew he was the grandson of the great Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Good for you?" Naruto replied, getting the feeling that Konohamaru was expecting some kind of reaction from him. Naruto had long ago decided to judge each person on their own actions, instead of their ancestors' merits. Spotting the brown-haired boy gaping at him, Naruto shrugged and walked around the stunned Sarutobi to join up with his team.
Konohamaru stared at Naruto's back as the blonde walked away. For the first time in the brown-haired boy's life, someone had acknowledged him as Konohamaru; not Konohamaru, the grandson of the Third Hokage. The young Sarutobi quickly darted forward to watch the three chatting Genin. He was so engrossed in watching Team Eight that he didn't pay attention to where he was running. Konohamaru was knocked to the ground yet again. He gazed up and started in slight fear.
A older teen dress in black with fierce-looking purple paint on his face loomed over Konohamaru. The young Sarutobi let out a shocked cry as he was hoisted into the air by the scruff of his shirt.
Kankuro Sabaku was having a bad day, more so then normal. He, along with his two siblings - Temari and Gaara -, had traveled to Konoha to participate in the Chunin exams from their home village of Suna. But the three Suna Genin hadn't expected everything to be so bustling, so full of life. Kankuro, who wasn't a people person to begin with, had grown more and more annoyed as time went on. His temperament wasn't helped by the fact that Konoha was confusing to the Suna ninja, especially when compared to the uniform buildings of Suna. His annoyance finally boiled over when a random snot-nosed brat ran into him. Kankuro grabbed the kid by his shirt and picked the brown-haired boy up, intent on punishing the brat for running into him. Kankuro pulled back his fist.
"Kankuro," Temari, his sister hissed, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Don't you worry too much!" Kankuro fired back at his blonde-haired sister, "This will only take a second." The male Suna nin turned back to the boy struggling in his grip. Kankuro drew his fist back. He swung.
His fist was suddenly halted when a hand grabbed his wrist, preventing it from moving. Kankuro snapped his head to the left, opening his mouth to demand why he had been interrupted, when he froze. Glacier blue eyes coldly stared at him as the blonde ninja they belonged to held the Suna nin's wrist.
"What are you doing?" Naruto spoke, his voice flat and intimidating. He had been enjoying his talk with Sakura-Chan and Hinata-Chan when he heard Konohamaru yelp in surprise and shock. The blonde had quickly arrived at the location of the sound, only to witness a purple painted ninja - from Suna by the look of his headband - yank the young Sarutobi off the ground, intent on hurting the defenseless boy. Naruto had surged forward, intent on stopping a defenseless person from being hurt.
"Drop him." Naruto's voice allowed no argument. When Kankuro seemed unwilling to comply, the blonde Uzumaki began to tighten his grip on the male Suna nin's wrist, causing the sand ninja to widen his eyes at the unexpected pain. "Don't make me ask again."
Temari's eyes widened at the other blonde's actions. Her hand slowly crept towards the large war fan she kept on her back. While she often hated the situations her brothers put her in, they were family, and she would defend them! The blonde-haired girl stilled when she felt a kunai casually rest on her shoulder, uncomfortably close to the sand kunoichi's neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Sakura's voice was mild, with a core of hidden steel.
Kankuro dropped Konohamaru, not wanting to give the blonde holding his wrist a reason to break it. Konohamaru scuttled backwards before scrambling to his feet, quickly running to hide behind Naruto. As soon as Konohamaru was safely behind him, Naruto released Kankuro's wrist and stepped back, alert for a counter attack. Sakura moved beside Naruto, her kunai once again hidden in her sleeve. Hinata dropped down from the rooftop nearby, and joined Team Eight.
"You're just lucky you go the drop on me." Temari sneered at Sakura, "If you hadn't I would have mopped the floor with you." Sakura snorted in amusement, letting the angered female sand ninja know how impressed she was with Temari's threat. Both of the sand ninja began to reach for the items on their backs when a cold voice stopped them both.
"Temari. Kankuro. You will stop immediately." Surprised, the two turned towards the voice, uncertainty flashing across their faces. A red haired boy with dark circles under his eyes faced them with his arms crossed. A large gourd was strapped on his back.
"But Gaara," Kankuro hastened to explain, "They are protecting the kid that ran into me!"
Gaara turned his head to fully face Kankuro. "Shut up or I'll kill you." The redhead's eyes softened slightly as he regarded his sister. "We are leaving." Gaara turned and started walking, fully expecting his siblings to follow.
"I'll deal with you later!" Kankuro promised Naruto as he headed to catch up with his brother.
Sakura met Temari's eyes, both of the kunoichi promising the other that they would resume their battle at a later time.
"Wow!" Konohamaru exclaimed as he watched the three sand ninja leave, "You were super fast Naruto-Sensei!"
"I'm not your teacher." Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion. Perhaps Konohamaru had taken a hit to the head before Naruto had arrived?
"Yes you are!" Konohamaru retorted, "You acknowledged me as Konohamaru, just Konohamaru, instead of 'Honored Grandson' or 'Grandson of the Third Hokage'!" Konohamaru explained, "And you're really strong!"
Naruto blinked. "Well," He scratched his head in thought, "I guess I can see what's going on after I become Chunin."
"I'm looking forward to it!" Konohamaru exclaimed. The brown-haired boy's eyes widened as he watched Team Eight vanish in a burst of speed as they hurried to the exams. "Naruto-Sensei is so cool!"
Team Eight stopped outside of the Ninja Academy Gates. Naruto pushed open the large gates and made his way inside the compound. Looking up at the building, Naruto couldn't help the large grin the spread across his face. The start of the next stage in his life started now!
So what did you think? Drop a review and let me know!
To my reviewers:
RikudoNaruto1: Yeah...I'm going to hazard a guess that perhaps Minato and Kushina wouldn't have wanted the birds and the bees explained quite like that to Naruto...
wolfboy2778: I'm glad you are enjoying this story! It would be really bad for the world in general if Naruto lost one of his precious people.
gilmaxter: I'm glad you liked it! Here's the next chapter!
ARevolt: Thanks! Here you go!
acw28: Yeah, all three are friends now. Granted, they still believe that Naruto can only marry one of them, but they are staying friends either way. And I think it's a bit of both. Naruto has a lot more to think about now (given that he is now aware of the female form in that way), and the world is getting a slightly less confused Naruto. And a less confused Naruto is a more competent one.
Firelord Nigga: By the time you meet them in the show, perhaps. But you have to remember that the Uchiha thought they could take on the entire village and win. That seems quite arrogant to me. And you are right about Cannon Naruto. He tended to try to flaunt his skills and abilities. Granted, you could interpret it as his way of getting attention rather than arrogance, but that's just my personal opinion.
Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: Hopefully this chapter will answer your question. I tried to portray Naruto as a person who was suddenly made aware of, for a lack of a better term, the female form. Originally I wanted it to be funny, but it turned out a bit more fluffy then I originally intended. Ah, well, what can you do?
Animaman:Technically the Hyuga were just standing there and defended themselves. Given that the council doesn't have any evidence to counter it, they have to drop the subject. You'll find out more how that went in the upcoming chapters. As far as advanced healing and longevity go, I don't think so. From what I understand, you have to have an ability far beyond a normal person to call it a bloodline. As far as chakra manipulation goes...I cannot confirm or deny that that will be happening soon. For the three girls, I think you'll be satisfied when it finally comes to light. Originally I had planned on Naruto meeting Neji and beating the (heh heh) fate out of him, but then I conceived this epically badass fight between Hinata and Neji. So I removed the scenes with Neji and Naruto in them, feeling that given that since Naruto doesn't live directly inside the Hyuga compound it's conceivable that he would have never run into Neji, especially given all of the time training Naruto spends each day. Yeah, Jiraiya isn't going to be happy in the slightest when he finds out how Naruto was treated. As for Tsunade, I'm not sure how that's going to go down. I mean, Jirairya has a slight excuse (keeping an entire spy network running), while Tsunade just decided to leave and get drink all the time, ignoring the fact that Naruto could have survived the Kyubi's attack. And given that Kakashi knows that he could get his head literally punched off, he's being very careful to avoid admitting he gave Naruto the Talk. And yeah, Naruto is slowly learning the laws of the village and how to use them. He prefers his fists, but he is starting to realize you can't punch all of your problems away.
Wacko12: You are correct. But given that they are already calling him -dono, it would look kinda odd if they start using the-sama honorific.
Iceflame55: Yeah, the girls are starting to realize that the other females aren't going to ignore Naruto forever. So it's a step in the right direction. As you saw in this chapter, Hinata is the one that is the most aware of what will happen once Naruto claims headship of the Uzumaki clan. And knowing her, she's going to inform the other girls soon enough.
Vanishing Raptor: To be honest, I tried by best with the party and the gifts. Given that I'm not the best party person myself, I tried to make it as realistic for the story as I could. Naruto is sorta still oblivious. He is aware of what he is feeling, but his low self worth can't let him see the possibility that they would like him. Plus the fact that Kakashi somehow forgot to tell Naruto what a blushing female means doesn't help. Yeah, I enjoyed the Hyuga Branch members' "fun". After all, self-defense isn't a crime...And awesome. It's hard for me to judge how well a character is developed in HotE vs. Cannon since in Cannon people were just given character development instead of it slowly growing from them. Here's your next chapter!
Necrotic Kight: Yeah, Kakashi seemed to be the best one to do it. Not only is he close to Naruto, but he would go all out in teaching him. Naruto is slowly building his own unique style, but he is having a bit of trouble considering those random kenjustu instincts keep popping up on occasion.
Thorndsword: To be honest, I typically find dense characters odd sometimes too. However, regarding Naruto in HotE, it's less denseness and more of his lack of basic understanding of people combined with his low self worth. As time goes on, he will slowly become less dense as he grows and begins to understand the people around him.
Refreaction of Light: That's the thing. From what I understand, the CRA is for bloodlines like the Sharingan or something like that. But that said, I'm sure that once his heritage becomes revealed there will be those who push for the CRA anyway. The main issue with the CRA in my mind is the fact that the village is ordering Naruto to marry people. Given how Naruto thinks, they basically are saying "you will love these people because we say so". While that may have worked with a more Cannon Naruto, the HotE version isn't so inclined to follow their orders. But time will tell in the future. And yeah, Kakashi has given Naruto a lot of information on the birds and the bees. Right now Naruto is too oblivious to the girls affection towards himself, but once they get him to realize it...
zafnak: I'm glad you liked it!
Thorndsword: Honestly I don't know if there is anyone who has more chakra potential then Naruto. The problem I see with Naruto is that he is constantly getting more chakra, so any fine control takes much more time to develop. Plus considering practicing Medical Jutsu requires someone to get hurt, and since he doesn't want his precious people hurt...I'll be honest, one of the main reasons Naruto isn't going to learn Medical Jutsus is so he needs a team. Given that, as far as I understand how Medical Jutsus work, they only require chakra to work; so it means that Naruto could just face-tank everything even more then he does right now. Which would be cool, but make a team rather pointless.
Thorndsword: Thanks! I try my best to keep the OCs out of the main character area, but sometimes they briefly enter that area as they do important things. Granted, if you are talking about Bear...I don't think you have to worry about him anymore.
Kedo: You bring up an interesting theory. As far as the Sealing Chains go...there's a hint in this chapter on whether or not Naruto will be able to use them. If he does...well, bloodline combinations isn't a completely absurd concept. Granted, I'm sure some people would want to get their hands on such a valuable child...
Guest: Yeah, sadly I ran out of chapter space. But there is embarrassment for Naruto in this chapter and the chapters going forwards. Let me know what you think of Naruto's reaction to the girls in this chapter.
zigmas: Honestly, the CRA isn't the only way Naruto could marry all of the girls. And yeah, Cannon Sakura always disappointed me slightly. She had so much potential and it was never realized. As far as Naruto having a bloodline, I don't know if the Uzumaki bloodline counts as being "special" enough to warrant a CRA. While is it great, there are clans with eyes that can literally bring back the dead. So in the end, I suppose it depends on what skills Naruto manifests in the near future. All of that being said, I really appreciate you taking the time to explain your reasoning behind the reason Naruto should get a CRA.
Liedral: I'm glad you enjoyed it! As far as the scene you requested...I cannot confirm or deny that something like that may happen.
Akane Mosoa: Yeah, I struggled for a bit when writing that scene. Ultimately I decided that since Kakashi feels strongly (to put it mildly) about his smut books, it wasn't too far of a stretch to say that he would be passionate about teaching Naruto.
loganhunter2: Yeah, for better or worse. Only time will tell if it has helped or hindered Naruto.
Fender Pick: Thanks! When I think of the Branch House, I imagine that they live simpler lives then the Main House. So when they can cut loose and protect the person who protected them, they would jump at the chance. I made Junchuriki as powerful as they should be. Technically they are more powerful then Cannon, given that I kept the idea that the Trailed Beasts are really powerful, instead of saying they are powerful but showing that they are not. They are going to be utter powerhouses, and only the most elite of elite can even dream of going toe-to-toe with them. And that's not to say that the elite would win. Granted, being a Jinchuriki doesn't make you unstoppable, but it's pretty damn close. I hope that answers your question. If not, let me know and I'll try to explain it a bit better.
Fender Pick: I generally try to avoid creating OCs if I can. But as I'm writing, I'm finding that sometimes there isn't a character with the disposition and/or abilities I need. So I make one. And if you are worried about Bear taking the limelight...
bloodbrother 18: I'm glad you like the scene with Kakashi. Naruto is slowly filling in the gaps he needs to become truly strong. And yeah, it's a strange situation. They like each other, but at the same time they are all competing for Naruto.
dksamuri: Thanks! I have often thought of getting a beta, but with how my current life looks, I can't guarantee to have anything for the beta to read in a timely manner. And yeah, that was/is one of my biggest worries. Often a good store is spoiled by a poorly written harem, so I'm trying by best to avoid messing it up.
DASvicks63: I honestly don't know where Sasuke is going to end up. In Cannon, Naruto is the one that is always holding Sasuke back from the abyss. Given that Naruto isn't doing that in HotE, I don't know if it will turn out well for Sasuke in the end.
DASvicks63: Officially, nothing has been set in stone yet. That said, it's slowly turning out to look like it's going that way.
CreedRazerReaper: Yeah, I was never really given the Talk either. So I tried by best to imagine what it would be like if given by someone who reads smut openly.
midnightscar17: As of right now, the CRA angle isn't looking very good. As far as Sakura and Naruto go, I honestly don't know.
twell101: Thanks! Here's the next chapter!
pseudo41: Sadly I must. To properly bring out the character of Naruto that I wanted, the Cannon way of simply ignoring Naruto wasn't going to work. Also, I tend to lean on the side of turning things up to eleven.
pseudo41: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Out of curiosity, what "bad" clichés have I included?
LordTicky: I'm trying to keep some level of humor in the story, given that reading nothing but grim awesomeness can grow dull after a while. I hope you find this chapter suitably epic and hilarious.
Waldo Santiago: Thanks!
Waldo Santiago: Yeah, I tried to show that Naruto losing control is a really big deal, for good or ill.
Waldo Santiago: Yeah, I've been puzzled when Haku lives in stories only to disappear from said story. Personally, I wish I could put out a chapter every week for you awesome people. But I can't bring myself to put out a chapter before I'm decently satisfied with it.
Waldo Santiago: Yeah, the Hokage's obliviousness is bad, but at the same time understandable. It doesn't make it good, but you can slightly identify with it.
Waldo Santiago: And what a wake-up call it was.
Waldo Santiago: I try to write my characters as if they were real people who just happen to have a story written about them.
Waldo Santiago: It seems that just about everyone liked Kakashi giving the talk to Naruto. And I just want to take the time to thank you for reviewing multiple chapters.