AN: SO here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. The next one should hopefully be published soon. This chapter was a bit difficult to write as I didn't want to rush it but I didn't want to put too much detail in and drag it out. Hopefully I have created a nice balance.

So yeah please enjoy and leave a comment or review at the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

( - )

(Last Time)

A large shout echoed across the Namikaze Compounds training ground as Erza Namikaze slammed her wooden training sword into one of the practice dummies. Dancing back from the dummy, Erza shot forwards again, her stride confident and her eyes narrowed as she struck the dummy again.

A slash to the head, three jabs to the chest and a final vicious swipe to the waist, all five strikes occurring within the five seconds. Darting backwards again, a slight smile curved across Erza face as the wooden dummy exploded in a shower of splinters.

Swishing her sword through the air with practice eased, Erza prepared to attack another practice dummy. Before she could however, she was interrupted by the sound of her sister's voice.

"If you keep this up we will run out of practice dummies." Mito said as she approached her sister, her crimson hair tied back in a ponytail and her clothing consisting of a baggy t-shirt and a pair of leggings. This was in contrast to her sister Erza, who was wearing a set of finely crafted light armour, completely with a number of steel plates covering her vital points.

"Mito!" Erza said as she turned to her sister a concerned expression now on her face as she dropped her battered training sword onto the ground and turned to face her sister fully. "How are you feeling?"

"Bad." Mito replied with a tired smile. "Still feeling rough after using the Kyuubi's chakra?"

"You shouldn't have pushed yourself like that." Erza said with a frown. "You know how dangerous Kyuubi's chakra can be, even when you are in control of it."

"What choice did I have, my comrades were in danger, how could I live with myself if my friends got hurt because I didn't give it my all?" Mito asked as she leant down and scooped up Erza's practice sword, giving it a few clumsy practice swings as she did. Kenjutsu has never been her forte, she could use kunai and Shuriken but that was about it.

Erza stared at her when she said that, unable to refute her words. "What was it like to fight for your life like that?"Erza questioned suddenly as she stared at her sister.

Mito winced at that but still replied. "It was terrifying. That guy… Grimm, he outclassed me in every way. Nothing any of us did even fazed him. And when I saw one of his chakra chains coming for me… I froze… it was like I saw my death coming. If it wasn't for Kakashi I probably would have died."

There was silence at that as they both thought about what happened to Kakashi When she had heard Erza had cried herself to sleep that night, only comforted by the fact that Mito was still alive.

"Next time you won't be scared, because next time you won't be alone. The next time we you see that guy we will fight him together." Erza said fiercely her brown eyes flashing as she looked at her sister.

Mito smiled slightly as she heard the passion in her sister voice.

"You're right. The next time I will be stronger and then we will beat him." Mito said as she handed Erza her practice sword back.

( - )

Chapter 14

( - )

(With Naruto)

"So this is the genin team I have been assigned to lead is it?" Naruto said as he entered the training ground that Mei had directed him to, an unimpressed look on his face as he inspected the current occupants of the training grounds.

"You're Pain I take it, our Jounin Sensei?" One of the occupants spoke up as he looked Naruto up and down, an equally unimpressed look on his own face. "I thought you would have been taller."

The one who had spoken was a tall skin youth around the same age as Naruto. The boy had shoulder length blond hair and violet eyes. As he opened his mouth to speak, Naruto was able to see that the boy had filed his teeth to points. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he took notice of the sword strapped to the boys back, it was a pretty recognizable one as well after all it was one of the Seven Legendary Swords of the Mist, the blade known as Shibuki also known as 'the Blastsword'..

Instantly taking note of all these facts Naruto was able to come to a conclusion on just who this boy was. "Suigetsu Hozuki I take it, one of the trainee members of the new Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and also one of the last few remaining members of the Hozuki Clan?"

The now named Suigetsu grinned at that, his filed down teeth on full display as he sent the other two genin in the room a smug look. "Ha! So the big bad Pain knows who I am. I shouldn't be surprised, after all the Seven Swordsmen aren't called legendary for nothing."

Naruto gave him a bored look at that before he looked away dismissively. "I think I would have preferred your brother Mangetsu, from what I have heard he is much more skilled and not as annoying, though I suppose he is not a genin and is already a full member of the Seven Swordsmen unlike you who are still just a newbie."

The smug look instantly left Suigetsu's face as he heard that, before he could retort though Naruto had moved onto the other genin's in the room.

"Hmm." Naruto muttered to himself as he inspected the next genin who was looking nervously at him. "Blue hair, glasses and filed down teeth. A slightly nervous disposition and one of the Seven Swords of the Mist strapped on you back, I take it you are Chojuro the wielder of Hiramekarei, 'the Twinsword' and another trainee member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"E-erm yes sir." Chojuro replied nervously as he shifted uncomfortably under Naruto's red eyed gaze. "I-it will be an honour to work with you Pain, sir."

Naruto nodded curtly at that, a slight smile on his face at the boy's soft and nervous tone. The boy may appear meek, but from what Naruto had heard he was a really beast in a fight, Naruto certainly wasn't against him being on his team, nor was he really against Suigetsu. After all he like the other members of the new Seven Swordsmen was chosen for a reason, they were chosen because they all had the potential to be great.

"It will be good to work with you Chojuro." Naruto said as he reached out and shook Chojuro's hand. "Fight well and we won't have a problem."

A distinctly uncomfortable look crossed Chojuro's face at that. He had heard about Pain and had heard about just how many he and his team had killed, so much so that they had become something of a legend in their own right. He really didn't want Pain to have a problem with him.

Releasing the boy's hand Naruto turned to the last member of his genin team, though calling them genin was a bit disingenuous considering the fact that all three of them were at least high chunin to low jounin level Shinobi.

A genuine smile crossed Naruto's face as he approached the last member of his new team. The youth standing before him was around Naruto's own age, with short brown and hazel brown eyes. The boy had a large bulky build, too large for someone his age, like Naruto he had built up a lot of muscle on his frame, which was a contrast to the lean, thin physique most Shinobi went for.

"Hodan the motherfucking 'Cannonball' it's been a while!" Naruto said with a grin as he slapped the boy on the shoulder, before dragging him into a manly hug. He along with Victor and Clementine had been one of the first Outcasts his own age that he had met upon coming to KIri, back when he had clung to old man Furui like glue. Because of that and because of their similar ages they had all hung around a lot in the beginning and had regularly gone on low level missions during the war together. Unfortunately though Hodan had not become a Hunter-nin like Naruto, Clementine and Victor, his skill set after all was not the most subtle type. Instead he had remained a just a regular Shinobi, though a very destructive and enthusiastic one..

"Pain!" Hodan replied with a large smile of his own, even as he lifted Naruto up in a hug before releasing him. "How are things?"

"Bit shit at the moment old boy." Naruto replied with a shrug. "My team has been disbanded, Clementine and Victor have been put into training as new Swordsmen of the Mist and I have been given this mission. How about you? How the fuck are you still considered a genin?"

"Ha! That's great for them, bet they will be pretty awesome Swordsmen." Hodan replied with a grin, before a sheepish expression crossed his face as he heard the rest of Naruto's question. "As for why I am a genin… well… I did get promoted … but then I went on a few missions and… well you know…. there was a lot of collateral damage."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that in amusement. "You mean you got over excited and destroyed something you shouldn't, so Mei demoted you."

"Yeah." Hodan replied shiftily. "She was not very happy."

"Yeah I can believe it." Naruto chuckled with a small smile on his face. "Well I am glad to have you with me."

Hodan grinned at that.

Yes Naruto was happy with the team he had been assigned. Two trainee Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and an old comrade and war veteran, yes he was very happy with his team; they would certainly make it to the last round and would be a devastating force to have hidden within Konoha when they needed to fight. Thoguh if that was for Konoha or against was yet to be decided.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Suigetsu asked a slight scowl on his face as he saw how Naruto had been much more hospitable to the other two.

"Now?"Naruto said with a wry smile. "Now I am going to train you, and train you hard. I have a month to make sure we can all fight as a cohesive unit. So we will work on team work and combination attacks."

Chojuro nodded at that, even as Hodan shrugged nonchalantly at Naruto's words, not to fussed about the extra training, it was after all necessary. Suigetsu however frowned at that. "So what exactly is our mission then? We have been told that all we have to do is enter the Chunin Examination and make it to the final round?"

Naruto nodded at that before replying. "And that is all you need to know for now, when it becomes necessary for you to know more I will tell you. For now though you are just to make it to the final round, you will be the only genin team Kiri is sending due to reasons you will be told of later. Though I will say that when you are taking part in the exam you are not to kill anyone from the villages of Suna, Oto and Konoha, or at least not unless I tell you to."

This time all three members of the team looked confused.

"Well this sounds very dodgy." Hodan said blandly. "Ah well, we are Shinobi, cryptic missions is the norm for us."

"Yeah but I would like to know a bit more about just what we are doing taking part in some random Chunin Exam in Konoha." Suigestu said loudly, his voice slightly petulant as he demanded answers.

"And you will be told. But for now you will be kept in the dark in case you are captured and interrogated. So sack it up." Naruto said knowing as he did how annoying this would be for them. Unfortunately though the mission was an important one, if anything went wrong it could lead to fighting breaking out before Kiri was ready. So for now Naruto was going to play things close to his chest, he needed to ensure his team was safe, which for now mean he would keep certain details form them.

Hodan and Chojuro nodded at that, both of them understanding Naruto's reasoning. Suigetsu scowled but eventually accepted that Naruto had a reason, and that he would be told eventually.

"Anymore questions?" Naruto asked as he looked at the three of them. When none of them spoke up Naruto smiled. "Good, now we have under month to prepare, so let's start training."

( - )

(Mina's Shinobi Bar a few weeks later)

Naruto let out a tired sigh as he entered Mina's place, nodding to the white haired bar owner a she did. It was strange to think that just a few weeks ago he was in here drinking with his team, preparing for his mission to reclaim two of the Seven Swords of the Mist,; it was crazy how fast things can change in such a short amount of time.

"Oi! Shit for brains!" A voice suddenly called out from the bar.

'Or not.' Naruto thought with a slight grin as he saw Clementine and Victor waiting for him by the bar. Walking over to them Naruto was able to see that neither of them had changed much, save for the Nuibari that was now sheathed at Victor's hip and the Kubikiribocho strapped on Clementine's back. Save for that they looked nearly exactly the same as before.

"Pain!" Victor said with a grin. "How things, been a while?"

Naruto blinked in surprise as he saw Victor grin, his eyes immediately going to his friends now filed down teeth, seeing them he turned to Clementine. As he did so he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her pearly whites looking exactly the same as they were before.

Turning back to Victor he replied. "They have been alright, I've been given a mission by Mei that is keeping me busy. What about you? You look… different?"

"You mean the teeth?" Victor chuckled good-naturedly his glasses flashing as he met Naruto's gaze. "Yeah it is kind of a tradition for the Seven Swordsmen to get them done, so I thought why not. Besides I can always replace them in a few years if I don't like it."

"Hmm." Naruto replied noncommittally, not really wanting to tell Victor that they looked fucking hideous. "You weren't tempted Clem?"

"Fuck no!" The blonde replied a look of horror on her face. "I mean what kind of dumb twat would do that to themselves?"

"I am sure she means no offence Vic." Naruto said diplomatically.

"No." Clementine replied her pink eyes twinkling. "I definitely meant offence."

"Lovely." Victor spoke up giving Clementine a dry look as he did. "So you got a mission from the Mizukage?"

"Yeah" Naruto said. "Pretty big too, don't think I can say much about it."

"Has it got anything to do with the Chunin Exams in Konoha?" Victor asked.

Naruto immediately tensed at that. "Why do you ask?"

"Probably because me and Victor have been added to the Mizukage's protection detail for when she goes to Konoha." Clementine spoke up with a shrug. "The fact you are not on it tells me that you will probably be in Konoha as well, only doing something else. After all you are one of Mei's most trusted Shinobi and would definitely have been added to her protection detail if you were available."

Naruto let out a sigh at that. There was not a leak; they were just making an educated guess on what information they had access to. "Well you will just have to wait and see won't you."

"Tease." Clementine said in response a grin once again on her face.

"So enough about me, how's training?" Naruto asked as he decided to change the topic of the conversation, as he did so he also waved the bartender over and asked for the usual, a cheap and rough tasting whiskey.

"Good." Clementine said with a shrug. "At the moment it is just getting used to our swords and practicing the most simple of techniques that can be used. The Kubikiribocho is pretty straight forward, it is just a big ass sword, with the handy ability of being able to fix itself by absorbing the iron in blood."

"Sounds like the sword is more bloodthirsty than you." Naruto replied with a chuckle.

"Well I wouldn't go that far." Clementine replied a vicious smile now on her face. "Though Victor is pretty much a natural with his sword. Old patchwork over there seems to be a master of using that oversized needle."

Victor looked down at his needle like sword, the Nuibari with a fond expression on his face. "Yeah she is a really beauty."

"So do you know what you will be doing after your training is over?" Naruto asked.

"Hopefully we'll be put back on a team with you. I think the Mizukage is quite keen for us to track down Samehada the last missing sword. After that we will just be going on assassination and hunting missions. Same as before I am guessing." Clementine replied with a shrug. "I reckon we were only made Swordsmen to keep us busy until the heat died down on you, you know after you killed Kakashi and got a massive bounty on our heads."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that.

"Well you can't be surprised; we were a pretty awesome team." Victor added in with a grin, banging his fist on the bar as he did so.

"Fuck yeah!" Naruto shouted loudly as the he grabbed the tumbler of whiskey the barkeep had just placed in front of him. "To Team Ghoul!"

"To Team Ghoul!" The other two chorused as they clinked their glasses.

( - )

(In Konoha with Team 7)

The ringing of steel clashing against steel could be heard throughout training ground seven, as two similar looking red heads clashed. Letting out a shout one of the red headed girl, this one wearing light armour and having unbound hair, leapt forward a golden sword made out of pure chakra held in her hand.

The other girl, who was wearing a tight fitting battle dress, her crimson hair tied up into a tight ponytail scowled as she saw the other charge. Flicking her hands forward she sent two kunai flying at the other girl.

Erza, the sword wielding girl nimbly dodged both kunai, her pace not even slowing as she closed in on her sister Mito. Held in her hand was a blade of chakra, made in a similar way to how she made her Uzumaki Chakra Chains. This sword like the other weapons Erza could make out of her chakra was as sharp as a wind ninjutsu and had the added side effect of temporarily disrupting the chakra of anyone it cuts; it was a handy ability to be sure. Swinging her blade at Mito, Erza didn't hold anything back.

Seeing her sister still coming at her, Mito began to elegantly dodge and dance around the increasingly fast strikes her sister was launching at her. As she dodged, ducked, dipped, dived and dodged she kept her eyes sharp, patiently waiting for any chance she could to counter attack.

Mito's eyes suddenly sharpened; as she saw her sister slightly over extend one of her lunges. Darting forward Mito raised her hand, revealing the faintly glowing black seal that had been inked onto it. Closing the distance Mito had to dodge as Erza pivoted on the spot, swinging her blade round to bear on Mito as she did. Mito ducked low and allowed the blade to pass harmlessly over her, the golden blade cutting a few loose strands of red hair from Mito's head as it passed.

Mito thrust her hand up, the palm of her hand slapping against the flat of Erza's blade. With a cracking sound the Fuuinjutsu seal Mito had inked onto her hand activated. Erza's blade shattered even as the residual chakra was greedily absorbed by Mito's seal. Mito didn't even batter an eyelash at this, as she instead tried to sweep her sister's legs with a low sweeping kick.

Erza wasn't taken by surprise however, as she jumped into the air, leaping over the kick and putting a few metres distance between the two of them. The moment her feet touched the ground she was moving again, two thin, four foot long golden spears appearing in her hands, as she used her unique Uzumaki bloodline to forge the two projectiles. Twirling the two spears in her hand she launched them both at Mito, before she shot forwards again, a pair of blades now in her hands as she tried to attack while Mito off guard.

Seeing the two spears coming, Mito channeled chakra through her body and into the palms of her hand. Twisting her body, Mito avoided both of the spears with ease, her hands already moving to slap her palms against them and destroy and absorb them as they passed. She manage to hit one of them, but not the other, the other spear instead struck and blew through four layers of trees in the forest behind Mito.

Seeing her sister charging once again, Mito went through three hand seals before she slammed her hands on the ground, using the excess chakra she had just absorbed to bolster her jutsu. "Wind Release: Wind Palm!"

Air exploded from Mito's palms and then into the ground as she did this. Dust soon filled the air as the ground in front of Mito cracked and crumbled, with dust and dirt exploding out of the cracks and into the surrounding area.

Undeterred by the cloud of dust now covering the training ground, Erza continued forward both her blades held at the ready.

"Enough." A stern voice echoed across the field. This voice was soon followed by a powerful wind jutsu that blew away the dust, revealing Erza and Mito standing inches away from each other, both of them staring calmly at each other. The blade in Erza's right hand was at Mito's throat, even as the blade in her left had been shattered by Mito's left hand. The kunai in Mito's right hand however was hovering inches away from Erza's chest, positioned just over where the heart was.

Both of the girl's were panting as they stared each other down, taking note of the position they were in. without a word they backed off from each other, the two of the nodding to the other respectfully as they did so.

"You fought well." Erza said with a respectful nod to her sister.

"Back at you sis." Mito replied with a grin. "We are going to crush the Chunin Exams."

"Yes, we will bring honour to both Konoha and to the memory of Kakashi." Erza replied sternly.

Mito's smile dipped at that, before she nodded. "Yeah, we'll do him proud."

"Yes, I am sure you both will." Yugao said proudly as she approached the duo, Sasuke following behind her, his eyes wide as he looked from one girl to another, the Sharingan in his eyes spinning fast as he committed the fight he had just seen to memory.

"Those other genin are not going to know what hit them!" Kushina Uzumaki said as she made her presence known a large grin on her face, her violet eyes twinkling as she looked fondly down at both of her daughters. "Team Seven is going to dominate the competition this year!"

Both of the girls grinned as they saw their mother's enthusiasm, the joy of Kushina Uzumkai really was contagious.

( - )

(With Naruto and Team Pain at the gates of Konoha)

Naruto let out a sigh as he caught site of Konoha's gates for the first time in three years. It was strange really to think just how much he had changed from the frail and scared child he had been when he had fled to the strong and resilient person he was today.

Approaching the gate Naruto felt a sliver of nervousness rise up in him as he vaguely recognized the two gate guards. His nervousness was due to his worry over whether he would be recognized, he shouldn't be,after all he had changed a lot in the last three years. He had gained at least four stone of muscle and a foot of height, he also looked a lot healthier than he had been when he left. On top of that he no longer had blue eyes, instead he had his black sclera and crimson irises, having embraced who he was he saw no point in trying to hide them.

So all in all he looked very different from before, though to add to his changes he was also wearing a Shinobi half mask that covered his lower face. Plus he also had a Mist Shinobi headguard in clear view, resting snugly on his forehead.

Some may question why he was being so paranoid, after all he had once called this place home and he didn't have anything against the place or the people inside. But for Naruto the reason he did not want to be recognized is that it would interfere with his mission, and bring complications to his life that he was just not ready or willing to deal with yet.

Approaching the gates his three genin walking behind him, all three of them naturally slightly wary as they queued to enter the neutral Shinobi Village of Konohagakure.

Naturally, the group of obviously Kiri Shinobi were stopped at the gate by the bored looking pair of guards, after all the guards wouldn't have been doing their jobs had they not halted a group of dangerous foreigners hoping to enter their Village..

"We're here for the Chunin Exams." Naruto said pleasantly as he eyed both the Chunin, once again he knew he recognized them, but could just not for the life of him recall their names, it appeared by his silence that You did not remember either. Though knowing his alternate self he might just not care, he was an odd one at the best of times.

"Alright you're the thirteenth group today. I'll just need your Jounin instructor to sign you in?" The guard said as he looked the group over, a clip board in his hand, one that had the names and pictures of all the foreign genin teams entering the Chunin Exams this year on it.

Naruto rolled his eyes at that before coughing politely in his hand. "That would be me. Jounin Pain of Kirigakure, the Jounin Sensei for Team One."

The man with the clipboards' eyes widened slightly at that. But he quickly shrugged it off after all a teenage Jounin was not that shocking. It was a bit irritating considering he was in his mid to late twenties and was still a Chunin. But sometimes the world worked like that. Scanning down the list, he quickly found Pain's name as well as his team, all of whom matched the pictures that had been sent through to Konoha by the Mizukage.

Ok I have you on the list, and you have been booked into a hotel along the southern border of Konoha, just walk down this street and keep going until you reach the mountain wall, your hotel will be along that stretch. Give your name at the hotel's reception and they will sort you out from there, some instructions for what you need to do next will be sent to your room later this evening." The guard said as he directed Naruto and his group to where their hotel was. "I have to say though, I am surprised. You are the only team from Kiri booked in this year?"

Naruto shrugged at that before reply. "The crop of genin this year has been disappointing. From what I heard the Mizukage held a load of them back as she did not deem them ready to take the Chunin Exam this year."

"Tough break" one of the gate guards said. "Guess this means there will be loads of Kiri genin at the next Chunin Exams?"

"Wouldn't surprise me." Naruto replied with anther shrug, even as he led his team through the gate and into Konoha. A slight smile on his face as he once again found himself in the village he grew up in, even as he looked up and saw the face of his father looking down at him from the Hokage monument.

( - )

AN: And so Naruto is back in Konoha. Hope you all liked this chapter it is more of a starter chapter for the upcoming arc.

As always please leave a comment or a review I love hearing from you and I do take your comments into account when writing the next chapter. If anyone has any specific questions Pm and I will try and answer them as quickly as I can.

By the way someone asked me where Clementine came from. If you want to know look up Clementine from Overlord, that is the basis of my character. Though I have changed bits and pieces about her.

See you all next time. Next chapter should be out soon.

Seagate.